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Government offers £100m to North West Enterprise Zones

Enterprise Zones in the North West have received a £100m cash injection from the Government in a bid to increase investment in infrastructure.

Four zones have secured investment across the region, including Halton, Manchester, Ribble Valley and the Wirral.

Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, announced the funding on Monday, which hopes to support the Enterprise Zones’ ability to attract businesses and create local jobs.

13 zones have secured investment across the country to build new service roads, car parking facilities and other infrastrcuture to support “shovel ready” and “job ready” sites.

Eric Pickles MP said: “Enterprise Zones are stimulating job creation and economic growth in different parts of the country with their special package of incentives to attractive new business ventures.

“The Government is putting its money where its mouth is and making sureEnterprise Zones have the buildings and infrastructure they need to make sites ready for businesses to set up in.

“Enterprise Zones are proving extremely popular with business. They have already created over 3,000 jobs for local people – a 75% increase in just five months – and many more will be coming down the pipeline because of this new support.”

Originally a fund of just £60m, the investment is designed to boost the Enterprise Zones and transform them into “economic engine rooms” for local economies.

The zones have created 3,000 jobs since their inception, as well as attracting 126 businesses and securing £229m of private sector investment.

Furthermore, five Enterprise Zones will receive £24m through the Department for Transport to deal with traffic bottlenecks and road congestion.

Andy Rose, chief executive for the Homes and Communities Agency, which is administering the fund, said: “The response from the Enterprise Zones to this investment opportunity demonstrates just how crucial upfront infrastructure is to development.

“It is great news that this additional investment means more priority sites can be funded than first thought, creating more jobs in the areas that need them.

“We will now work with partners to refine the bids and ensure the investment is helping to maximise economic growth in local communities.”

The Government indicated that Monday’s announcement was just one of a string of measures to rebalance the economy by supporting local businesses.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .