Budget 2015: Blackpool set for 3,000 jobs boost

BLACKPOOL is in line for up to 3,000 new jobs after being named as one of the latest of the UK’s eight enterprise zones in the Chancellor’s Budget.

The zone will centre around Blackpool airport and was unveiled – alongside Plymouth – as an key area where there would be initiatives to create jobs and boost business. It will be administered by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.

It could mean business rates slashed, simplified planning regimes and super-fast broadband rolled out throughout specific locations.

The move to help the airport area follows its closure to commercial flights in October with the loss of 100 jobs, and it is not yet known whether it will be linked to the existing BAE hub at Salmsebury and Warton.

Owners of the airport Balfour Beatty have been negotiating the move since the closure. Since then, the company has been in talks with Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council.

Fylde Conservative MP Mark Menzies said he had lobbied the government for support since the airport closed last year.

He added: “This announcement will help bring businesses to the area, many of which will be attracted by the availability of a working runway on site, and lead to job creation, growth and connectivity for the wider Fylde coast.”