AS2015: New Enterprise Zones named
A handful of new Enterprise Zones were announced by the chancellor in the Autumn Statement to lever investment into the region, at Kingmoor Park in Carlisle, a new Cheshire Science Corridor linking several assets, Hillhouse Chemicals & Energy at Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire, and Greater Manchester Life Science.
Based around the Hillhouse Business Park, the 138 hectare site has a long history within the chemical sector and will build on this heritage and target companies active within the polymer, textile and related industries.
Cheshire’s Science Corridor joins together Cheshire and Warrington’s nationally and internationally significant research facilities at Alderley Park, the nationally significant nuclear cluster at Birchwood in Warrington, the University of Chester’s Thornton Science Park and leading companies in Ellesmere Port.
In total there will be 44 Enterprise Zones in England: 18 new, 24 existing of which eight have extensions, plus Blackpool Airport and Plymouth Enterprise Zones which were previously announced in the Budget that took place in March 2015.
The new and extended Enterprise Zones are:
- Aerohub Extension (Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership)
- Aylesbury Vale (Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP)
- Bath and Somer Valley (West of England LEP)
- Birmingham Enterprise Zone Curzon Street (Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP )
- Cambridge Compass (Greater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough LEP)
- Carlisle Kingmoor Park (Cumbria LEP)
- Ceramics Valley (Stoke and Staffordshire LEP)
- Cheshire Science Corridor (Cheshire & Warrington LEP)
- Didcot Growth Accelerator (Oxfordshire LEP)
- Dorset Green (Dorset LEP)
- Enterprise M3 (Enterprise M3 LEP)
- Enviro-Tech (Hertfordshire LEP)
- Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone Extension (New Anglia LEP)
- Greater Manchester Life Science (Greater Manchester LEP)
- Heart of the South West (Heart of the South West LEP)
- Hillhouse Chemicals and Energy (Lancashire LEP)
- Humber Enterprise Zone Extension (Humber LEP)
- Infinity Park Extension (D2N2 LEP)
- Luton Airport (SEMLEP)
- M62 Corridor (Leeds City Region LEP)
- NE Round 2 (North East LEP)
- New Anglia (New Anglia LEP)
- Newhaven (Coast to Capital LEP)
- North Kent Innovation Zone (South East LEP)
- Tees Valley Enterprise Zone Growth Extension (Tees Valley Unlimited LEP)
- York Central (York, North Yorkshire & East Riding LEP)
From which the following are extensions:
- Aerohub Extension
- Bath and Somer Valley
- Birmingham Enterprise Zone Curzon Street
- Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone Extension
- Humber Enterprise Zone Extension
- Infinity Park Extension
- North Kent Innovation Zone
- Tees Valley Enterprise Zone Growth Extension
Enterprise Zones enable local authorities to retain new business rates for at least 25 years, offer occupiers a reduced business rate, and promise simplified planning rules and broadband investment.
Follow Neil Tague’s analysis of Enterprise Zone performance to date all this week
