North West loses out as new round of Enterprise Zones are unveiled
THE North West has lost out in the latest round of bids for Enterprise Zone status.
Bids from Local Enterprise Partnerships in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Lancashire and a joint bid between the Greater Manchester and Liverpool LEP for a zone at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus were submitted in the hope of securing one of the remaining ten Enterprise Zones. Manchester and Liverppol received Enterprise Zone status for Airport City and Liverpool Waters respectively during the first round of bids.
However, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Skills announced just four new zones today in Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham and Bristol. However, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said that it still planned to create ten more zones event after today’s announcement.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne have also given an update on the government’s “Plan for Growth”.
The government said it had either met or achieved “significant milestons” on 124 of the 1237 reforms proposed in March, and it announced plans to scrap or simplify 160 different regulations governing retailers in a bid to give the struggling sector a shot in the arm.
Cameron said: “I am determined that we should drive growth in every town, city and community in the country. For too long our economy has been dependent on just one corner of the country and too few industries.
“But it won’t be Ministers in Whitehall who can drive this growth; it will be those with the great business idea who are ready to start up, the entrepreneurs who want to grow their company, the businesses looking to expand into new markets.
“That is why we are getting behind them, cutting business taxes, freeing them from red tape, easing planning restrictions and rolling out Enterprise Zones to spark business growth around the country.”
Chancellor George Osborne said the economy was continuing to grow and added that some 500,000 private sector jobs had been created in the past year.
“The difficult decisions on the deficit have made the UK a safe haven in the recent economic storm,” he said.
Jack Stopforth, CEO of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said that scrapping regulations was a good move, but argued that the government should go further.
“Through the Red Tape Challenge, Ministers have acknowledged that reducing the burden of regulation on business is essential to supporting economic growth,” he said.
“But we question how these incremental changes will deliver real change on the ground at a time when the government is introducing more big-ticket regulation, for example around parental leave and flexible working. If we’re to see real economic growth in the UK, deregulation can’t be derailed by new and costly laws.”
