Hereford enterprise zone granted
The West Midlands has been granted its third enterprise zone location. A bid backed by The Marches LEP for the Rotherwas Business Park in Hereford was announced as being successful this morning. Bids from the Coventry and Warwickshire, Stoke and Staffordshire and Worcestershire organisations were not successful.
The Hereford site was among 11 new zone locations to be revealed this morning.
Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to revive the 1980's enterprise zones in his Budget speech in March. At the time, he announced the first wave of 11 zone locations, including sites in the Black Country and Birmingham.
Enterprise zones will benefit from cheaper business rates, superfast broadband and lower levels of planning control.
Prime Minister David Cameron described the zones as "trailblazers for growth, jobs and prosperity throughout the country".
The 40-acre Rotherwas Business Park proposal will bring in about 6,500 jobs, The Marches LEP has previously stated.
Dr Geoffrey Davies, chairman of The Marches LEP, said: "Hereford is home to a world-recognised brand in the defence industry, the SAS, which has led to a growing cluster of defence-related businesses.
"We have also taken into account the key growing environmental technologies and advanced engineering sectors, as well as the benefits of the new direct road link to the A49 from Rotherwas and access to high-speed wireless broadband when making this decision."
The majority of the Rotherwas site is owned by Herefordshire County Council, with some of the land available immediately for development and all of the site available by early 2013.
A bid for a Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffordshire Enterprise Zone was submitted based at Etruria Valley and Keele University Science Park. Worcestershire's LEP had backed a bid for a zone in South Kidderminster.
Coventry's submission centred around a bid involving the city's airport.
Denys Short, chairman of Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, said this morning that his organisation had missed out on one of the coveted zones, tweeting: "Cov & Warks miss out on new enterprise zone announcements."
Eleven new locations were announced this morning, creating a total of 22 zones. The Chancellor previously said that only 21 locations would be chosen in the UK.
Business secretary Vince Cable said: "Enterprise zones are creating an environment for businesses to grow in places with the most potential. Those the government is announcing today, on top of those already approved, show the range of ambitious plans in place across the country.
"Local Enterprise Partnerships have worked closely with businesses in their communities to put forward a range of high-quality proposals. The successful bids they will now take forward are going to help inject new growth into their economies.
"Across England, these zones will generate new jobs, investment in areas that can benefit, and develop high-tech products that will secure long-term sustainable prosperity.