Enterprise Zones: four more locations revealed

The four Enterprise Zones, in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Sheffield, were selected by their local enterprise partnerships, and are hoped to create over 24,000 new jobs by 2015.

View the details for each Enterprise Zone here:

• View details and location of the Birmingham Enterprise Zone
• View details and location of the Bristol Enterprise Zone
• View details and location of the Leeds Enterprise Zone
• View details and location of the Sheffield Enterprise Zone

The Enterprise Zones will benefit from discounts on business rates, new superfast broadband, lower levels of planning control and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances.

“Today we’re giving the go-ahead to Enterprise Zone sites in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Sheffield because they have the pedigree to accelerate growth and create thousands of new jobs. Our low-tax, low-regulation Enterprise Zones will help make our country the best place in Europe to start and grow a business,” says Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, adds: “I’m delighted that Enterprise Zones are gaining momentum and we are able to confirm more locations. This will help the work local enterprise partnerships are already doing to help roll out their zones and ensure that they are a success.”

The government also confirmed that it would announce the location of a further ten Enterprise Zones very soon.

The first Enterprise Zones were announced in the Budget 2011 and will be based within the following 11 local enterprise partnerships: Birmingham and Solihull, Sheffield City Region, Leeds City Region, Liverpool City Region, London, Greater Manchester, West of England, the Black Country, Derby and Nottingham, Tees Valley and the North East. 

All of the Enterprise Zones will benefit from:

• A business rate discount worth up to £275,000 per eligible business over a five year period;
• All business rates growth within the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be shared and retained by the local area, to support the partnership’s economic priorities and ensure that Enterprise Zone growth is reinvested locally;
• Government help to develop radically simplified planning approaches for the zone using, for example, existing local powers to grant automatic planning permission;
• Government support to ensure that superfast broadband is rolled out throughout the zone, achieved through guaranteeing the most supportive regulatory environment and, if necessary, public funding.

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