STOCKPORT GROWTH HOTSPOTS TARGETED FOR EXTRA BUSINESS INVESTMENT

Stockport is to have 5 central wards designated for Assisted Area Status including Bredbury & Woodley, Cheadle & Gatley and Cheadle Hulme North having been identified as having the potential to benefit from regional aid, and an assessment of economic need.

Assisted areas are those areas where regional aid can be offered to undertakings, typically businesses, under European Commission state aid rules. Regional aid is allowed under state aid rules to promote cohesion and convergence between poorer and richer parts of the EU. It is used to support capital investment in assets and to support new employment.

In the UK, an example of a schemes offering regional aid is the Regional Growth Fund – operating in England to support projects and programmes that are using private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment.

Assisted Areas status can also offer certain tax allowances:

• Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) is predicated on Assisted Area status. It gives an incentive to bring derelict or unused properties back into use, by giving an initial allowance of 100 percent for expenditure on converting or renovating unused business premises in a disadvantaged area.
• The Enhanced Capital Allowances permitted at some Enterprise Zones are reliant on Assisted Area status.

Mark Hunter, local MP for the Cheadle & Gatley and Cheadle Hulme area said:

“Stockport has been setting the pace in investing in its future, with big projects like Stockport Exchange, and the highly successful recruitment of apprentices.  Now this welcome new move can be a turbo-boost for more new jobs and investment in the coming years.

“I am particularly pleased that important employment areas in Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme will benefit.  I will certainly be working with local firms and the Council to see how we can make the best use of the opportunity.”

Andrew Stunell, Liberal Democratic MP for the Hazel Grove ward says the new status highlights the importance of helping young people get the skills they need to take up new high tech jobs across the Borough.

“My campaign to recruit apprentices has been a great success, and the Council’s Apprentice Shop is the envy of the North West.  We need more of that, and I hope the designation of the Bredbury Business Park can be the springboard for investment in high tech jobs, with Stockport young people getting the best pick.”

The status makes local businesses eligible to bid for additional funding and tax breaks to create jobs, invest in new premises or machinery and grow.