Leaders of Greater Manchester’s Airport City Enterprise Zone have welcomed a new fund announced this week by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles – which aims to deliver the infrastructure that Enterprise Zones need to become economic engine rooms and drive growth across the country.
Fund
The Government is inviting Enterprise Zones to apply for £59 million worth of investment to help ‘turn shovel ready sites into job ready sites’ by completing key infrastructure projects.
This fund will help Zones with real growth potential to put in place the infrastructure required to unlock sites so businesses can set up. This could mean links to local road networks or reconfiguring site layouts; upgrading or installing utilities like electricity and water; or land remediation to reclaim contaminated land.
Eric Pickles said: “Economic growth is this Government’s biggest priority and Enterprise Zones are the engine room of that strategy. They are a fantastic way to attract the jobs and business investment that local areas need. This new £60m Fund will turbo charge that engine by turning shovel ready sites into job ready sites.
“Enterprise Zones have all the raw ingredients and growth incentives – simplified planning, low tax, super fast broadband and inward investment – they need to translate their potential into jobs and growth success. This is an opportunity to lay the infrastructure foundations so they are ‘gift wrapped’ ready to house new businesses.
“It is time for Enterprise Zones to take up the gauntlet of growth. Local Enterprise Partnerships can do more to make Zones realise their potential sooner. The Government is determined to work flat out with partnerships to clear any roadblocks in their Zone’s path so they can forge ahead and deliver the jobs the country’s economy needs.”
Airport City is the core element of the Government designated Enterprise Zone surrounding the UK’s third busiest airport, Manchester. It aims to compete with existing airport city and ‘aerotropolis’ projects outside the UK, including notable examples at locations such as Barcelona and Amsterdam. The wider Manchester Airport City Enterprise Zone totals 116 hectares, anchored by Manchester Airport and University Hospital South Manchester (UHSM).
Mike Blackburn, chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP), said:
“Our Airport City Enterprise Zone will compete with existing airport expansion projects across Europe, attracting inward investment and creating new jobs for people in the North West. I welcome the opportunity to access vital funding that has the potential to kick-start the first phase of this major development project – which will also help to stimulate further private sector led economic growth and investment in the long term.”
Karen Campbell, M.A.G’s Airport City Director, said: “Centred on the UKs third busiest airport with an established long-haul flight network, Airport City’s Enterprise Zone status has helped generate significant international interest and we have made considerable progress since unveiling our masterplan last year. Having recently secured planning permission, access to funding alongside our own investment will accelerate progress on unlocking the site for development.”
In total, the £650 million Airport City Manchester project will create around five million square feet of new business space in total over the next ten to 15 years, aiming to attract new international businesses to the North West region.
Source: Manchester Airport Group – Property. To read the full report visit MAG
For more information on Enterprise Zones see: http://enterprisezones.communities.gov.uk/
For more information on Airport City see: http://www.airportcity.co.uk
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