Cheshire LEP pins hopes on Omega
Omega, the long-awaited mixed-use development on the M62 outside Warrington, has been put forward for enterprise zone status by Cheshire & Warrington local enterprise partnership.
The 550 acre former airfield is among 29 proposals competing for the final ten enterprise zone spots, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced on Monday, following the deadline for the second wave of applications.
The ten zones selected will benefit from simplified planning rules, super-fast broadband and tax breaks for businesses to promote growth.
The North West received two enterprise zones in the first wave, announced in the Budget in March: Peel's Mersey Waters in Liverpool and Wirral, and Airport City in Manchester.
Omega was first mooted in the 1990s by landowner English Partnerships – it was later passed to the Homes & Communities Agency – Miller Developments and Royal Bank of Scotland. The first part of the development to come forward would be a distribution park on the north side of the motorway.
Also in the running in the second wave are BAE sites in Lancashire and Cumbria's energy coast proposals.
The 29 bids for a second wave Enterprise Zone are as follows:
|
Local Enterprise Partnership |
Enterprise Zone Proposal |
|
Cheshire and Warrington |
Omega – an outstanding business location for Cheshire and Warrington |
|
Coast to Capital |
Enterprise@BognorRegis |
|
Cornwall & Isle of Scilly |
Newquay AeroHub Enterprise Zone |
|
Coventry & Warwickshire |
Coventry & Warwickshire Gateway |
|
Cumbria |
Fuelling the Future – Cumbria Enterprise Zone |
|
Derby Derbyshire Nottingham Nottinghamshire |
Markham Vale Growth Zone |
|
East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock |
Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent |
|
East Sussex, Essex, Kent |
Enterprise West Essex @ Harlow |
|
Enterprise M3 |
Enterprise Zone M3 |
|
GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership |
Gloucestershire Enterprise Zone |
|
Greater Birmingham and Solihull |
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Enterprise Belt |
|
Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough |
Alconbury Business Campus |
|
Greater Lincolnshire |
South Humber Bank Gateway Enterprise Zone |
|
Heart of the South West |
Energised, Advanced, Inspired: Plymouth's Enterprise Zone for the Heart of the South West |
|
Heart of the South West |
Heart of the South West Low Carbon Energy Enterprise Zone |
|
Hertfordshire |
Hertfordshire Enterprise Zone @ Maylands |
|
Humber |
Humber Renewable Energy Super Cluster |
|
Lancashire |
The Lancashire AEM (Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing) Enterprise Zone |
|
Leicester and Leicestershire |
MIRA Technology Park |
|
London |
Upper Lee Valley |
|
London |
Croydon |
|
Marches |
Marches Enterprise Zone |
|
New Anglia |
Energy for New Anglia |
|
Oxfordshire |
Science Vale UK Gateway Zone |
|
Solent |
The Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus |
|
South East Midlands |
Northampton Waterside |
|
Stoke and Staffordshire |
North Staffordshire Enterprise Zone |
|
Worcestershire |
South Kidderminster Advanced Manufacturing and Business Park |
|
York and North Yorkshire |
The Yorkshire Coast Enterprise Zone |
How is everybody going to get to and from this enterprise zone everyday? The town cannot cope with the traffic that’s going through it at the moment. One accident on one of the motorways around Warrington can make the traffic come to a complete stop now. With however many thousands of new vehicles on the roads it won’t take an accident. I’ll start trying to get across town on Friday night to make sure I get to work on time on Monday Morning. Another scheme dreamt up by mindless idiots who don’t live in the area.
By Andy