Last week, the next set of 11 enterprise zones were announced and the West Midlands has been granted its third enterprise zone location in Hereford. The bid for the zone was backed by The Marches LEP for the Rotherwas Business Park in Hereford. Unfortunately, bids from the Coventry and Warwickshire, Stoke and Staffordshire and Worcestershire organisations were not successful.
Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to revive the 1980’s enterprise zones in his Budget speech in March. At the time, he announced the first wave of 11 zone locations, including sites in the Black Country and Birmingham.
The advantages of enterprise zones include cheaper business rates, superfast broadband and lower levels of planning control.
The 40-acre Rotherwas Business Park proposal in Herefordshire will bring in about 6,500 jobs, The Marches LEP has previously stated.
Dr Geoffrey Davies, chairman of The Marches LEP, said: “Hereford is home to a world-recognised brand in the defence industry, the SAS, which has led to a growing cluster of defence-related businesses.
“We have also taken into account the key growing environmental technologies and advanced engineering sectors, as well as the benefits of the new direct road link to the A49 from Rotherwas and access to high-speed wireless broadband when making this decision.”
The majority of the Rotherwas site is owned by Herefordshire County Council, with some of the land available immediately for development and all of the site available by early 2013.
Eleven new locations were announced this morning, creating a total of 22 zones. The Chancellor previously said that only 21 locations would be chosen in the UK.
Source: Insider Media
