Budget offers millions for Yorkshire
MILLIONS of pounds will be invested in Yorkshire on improved transpennine rail services, ultra-fast broadband and unlocking blocked development opportunities following the Budget.
Chancellor George Osborne agreed to fund Network Rail’s £130m ‘Northern Hub’ project, handed Leeds and Bradford £15m to invest in digital infrastructure and promised local enterprise partnerships in the county an extra £71m through the Government’s Growing Places Fund which helps kickstart stalled projects.
The Budget also offered broader support for business through measures including a cut in corporation tax, an ‘above the line’ R&D tax credit and the expansion of the proposed Business Finance Partnership which will channel funds to midcap companies.
Tim West, tax partner at Ernst & Young in Leeds, said: “The surprise extra cut in the corporation tax rate will be welcomed by businesses but the big news remains the Government’s focus on the international environment, which will encourage companies to locate, invest and employ here.
“Combined with yesterday’s announcement on the 50p rate, it reinforces the message that the UK is open for business.
“Add to this the patent regime and the new ‘above the line’ tax credit, to be introduced in 2013, the UK’s tax regime is coming close to best in class.”
The latest round of spending on transpennine rail will see upgrades to the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester, the line connecting Manchester to Preston and Blackpool, and the Manchester to Bradford line.
Metro chairman Coun James Lewis said: “We have always said that the £560m Northern Hub proposals should be funded in their entirety to unlock the potential for growth across the north of England and the £130m of funding, on top of the north trans-Pennine electrification and Ordsall Curve schemes already agreed, will help push the proposals forward.”
Leeds and Bradford had asked the Government for investment to roll out ultra-fast broadband access to more than 16,000 businesses and provide wireless coverage within both city centres.
Coun Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “This funding will enable us to accelerate the transformation of our cities, putting in place digital connections amongst the best in Europe.”
Business leaders in Yorkshire gave a mixed reaction to the broader measures announced by the Chancellor.
Richard Wright, executive director at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “The headline announcement for businesses is the reduction in corporation tax to 24% next month, and down to 22% by 2014.
“The problem is that this one per cent cut hardly equates to the imminent increases in business tax of 5.6% and lower allowances in capital investment, so overall things will get more difficult.
“I suspect a lot of small and medium businesses will feel there is less in this budget for them and more for the larger companies.”
