MIPIM 2012: Innovation and collaboration key for growth

INITIATIVES such as the Aire Valley Leeds Enterprise Zone and Bradford city centre growth zone offer unrivalled opportunities for economic growth, delegates at property expo MIPIM were told.

And working collaboratively and being innovative about ways to generate funding for major infrastructure and development projects were key messages heard at a breakfast briefing yesterday.

Organised by the Leeds City Region delegation at MIPIM, the aim of the event was to showcase major opportunities for investment and growth across the Leeds City Region.

Panellists were Neil McLean, chairman of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership; Martin Farrington, director of city development at Leeds City Council; Barra Mac Ruairi, strategic director for regeneration at Bradford Council; Matt Crompton, joint managing direcor of Muse Developments; and Stephen Kennard, director of land and development at the London Development Agency.

The event was chaired by Ian Briggs, editor of TheBusinessDesk.com in Yorkshire.

Mr McLean admitted that the city region’s economy had underperformed in recent years but he said closer collaboration between local authorities was enabling funding to be found to invest not only in property developments but also areas including the green agenda and skills.

He pointed to the city region’s strength in areas including education, healthcare and manufacturing as attractions for inward investment.

He also said the Government’s ‘city deals’ offer, which could see Leeds given devolved powers and extra cash, was important for enabling major decisions to help kick-start projects regionally.

“Let us have more control over budgets that have previously been controlled centrally and then let’s work on the sensible decision about how we invest those resources,” he said.

And he said he was confident that initiatives such as the Regional Growth Fund, the Growing Places Fund and the LEP itself would provide the catalysts for private sector investment in the city region.

Mr Farrington confirmed that the Aire Valley Enterprise zone was also set to benefit from a £2.5m investment from Muse Developments, one of the scheme’s partners, to deliver the spine road to the 49 hectare Logic Leeds site, which makes up part of the scheme.

Mr Crompton, who said the enterprise zone would be dependent on pre-lets, said: “The enterprise zone offers massive opportunities for growing the GDP of the Leeds City Region.”

Mr Farrington said he was also excited about the progress of schemes in Leeds, including the Leeds Arena and the Trinity Leeds shopping centre and said ongoing projects were helping to kick-start private sector investment.

Mr Kennard said the Leeds City Region could learn lessons from the way the Royal Docks enterprise zone was being implemented in the capital.

“The most significant thing has been the collaboration between the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newham (where land for the EZ is located),” he said.

“They are poles apart politically but they’ve made life as simple as possible. They want development to be quality but they also want to make things happen as quickly as possible.”

Discussing development within Bradford, Mr Mac Ruairi said the city centre growth zone – a multi-million pound plan to give a major boost to the city centre – demonstrated how thinking creatively could create investment opportunities.

The ‘growth zone’ will offer a range of benefits including a business rates relief scheme allowing eligible businesses to claim back a proportion of their business rates over three years providing they create new employment opportunities for local people.

Asked about the future of the stalled Westfield shopping centre, he said he was positive it would be progressed.

Mr McLean argued that although London and the South East of England were still viewed as the major economic areas of the UK, they were “massively constrained and can’t be the solution to the problem of UK growth on their own”.

Meanwhile, the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership’s enterprise zone was officially launched at MIPIM today.

A range of tax incentives to encourage manufacturing businesses to make substantial investments in plant and machinery in the enterprise zone were unveiled. The incentives are available on business investments to a total limit of £300m.

The Sheffield City Region LEP’s enterprise zone is one of only six in England able to offer enhanced capital allowances, which will offer up-front tax relief for major capital investments.

A number of sites connected by the M1 in South Yorkshire make up the enterprise zone.

James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP, officially launched the enterprise zone to an audience of property investors and decision makers at MIPIM.

Mr Newman said: “We hope that these incentives will attract investment from global advanced manufacturing and technology companies, creating hundreds of jobs for local people and providing a catalyst for continued economic growth.”