Manufacturing and growth hotspots targeted for extra business investment

SOUTH Yorkshire and Leeds are among hotspots to have won Assisted Area status from the Government.

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.

Manufacturing centres including Derby, Huddersfield, Portsmouth and Scunthorpe have now been added to the Assisted Areas map, in addition to the large parts of North East England, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, Strathclyde, the West Midlands and the Welsh Valleys, which were already benefiting from being on the map. The government has also added Leeds and Manchester to the map to help drive business growth across the North of England. And coastal towns such as Arbroath, Blackpool, Hastings and Lowestoft have also been included on the new map to help promote regeneration.

Business minister Michael Fallon said: “Assisted Area status can be a shot in the arm for growth and jobs across the UK. It makes local businesses eligible to bid for additional funding and support that can help them to create jobs, invest in new premises or machinery, develop and grow.

“We listened carefully to local groups to identify places where regional aid can have the biggest impact and help to rebalance the economy. The regeneration of a range of industrial centres, coastal and urban areas has been given a boost.”

The government’s Assisted Areas map is still subject to Commission approval and is expected to take effect on July 1.