Drug giant Pfizer’s former research site in Kent and the Daresbury Science Campus in Warrington are two of 11 UK sites to become “enterprise zones”.
The zones, announced by the Treasury on 17 August, are designed to boost local economic growth. The areas will benefit from discounts on business rates, fast broadband, lower levels of planning control and greater access to capital.
Chancellor George Osborne said in a statement that the zones are intended to generate over 30,000 jobs by 2015. He said new businesses in the areas will enjoy £150 million worth of tax breaks over the next four years.
Pfizer announced in April that it would close its R&D facility at Sandwich, Kent, with the loss of 2,400 jobs. The site was subsequently put on the market, renamed Discovery Park. On 27 June, however, the company announced that it would save 350 jobs on the site.
The government hopes to revitalise the site, offering companies a 100 per cent business rate discount worth up to £275,000 over the coming five years.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Daresbury Laboratory employs some 400 people. About 100 firms are based at the Science and Innovation Centre.
According to a Liverpool Post report on 17 August, the government is hoping that the 28 hectare campus area will attract another 30 companies and generate 1,000 jobs in science and technology by the time of the next general election.
Other sites to become enterprise zones include the Newquay AeroHub in Cornwall; a Humber Estuary Renewable Energy Super Cluster; the MIRA Technology Park in Hinckley, Leicestershire; and Science Vale UK in Oxfordshire.
“Enterprise Zones are creating an environment for businesses to grow in places with the most potential,” said the business secretary, Vince Cable, in a statement.
“Across England, these zones will generate new jobs, investment in areas that can benefit, and develop high-tech products that will secure long-term sustainable prosperity,” he added.
The government announced the first 11 zones in the spring, in cities including Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham.
Local Enterprise Partnerships, which replace the Labour government-founded Regional Development Agencies, will host the sites: Partnerships will work more locally and without direct government funding.
“Local Enterprise Partnerships have worked closely with businesses in their communities to put forward a range of high-quality proposals. The successful bids they will now take forward are going to help inject new growth into their economies,” said Cable.