An Enterprise Zone for the Sheffield City Region
Background
Earlier in the year (2011) the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Enterprise Zone was approved by Government. Our Enterprise Zone is one of twenty two Enterprise Zones in Local Enterprise Partnership areas across England.
In summary, the national policy position is that all Enterprise Zones will benefit from:
- A business rate discount worth up to £275,000 per business over a five year period
- Government help to develop simplified planning approaches in order to accelerate development within the Zone
- All business rate growth within the Zone for a period of at least twenty five years will be retained by the local area to support the Local Enterprise Partnership’s economic priorities
- Government support to ensure that high speed broadband is available to companies on Enterprise Zone sites
In addition, there may also be other support from Government if local conditions are such that further assistance is required to stimulate the development process. This includes Enhanced Capital Allowances for plant and machinery where it is considered that there is an opportunity for investment in manufacturing activity.
More information on national Government Policy relating to Enterprise Zones can be found at:
Developing the Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone Proposal
Since approval of the SCR Enterprise Zone, the Local Enterprise Partnership has been working with a range of local stakeholders to finalise a number of important elements of the Enterprise Zone and to conclude negotiations with Government on the type and scale of incentives, which match our Enterprise Zone ambitions.
As a result of this activity, the SCR has been designated an Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Enterprise Zone, with Government making available ECAs for investments of up to a total of £300m in eligible plant and machinery across a small number of identified ECA sites. This is in addition to approximately 53 hectares of land for Business Rate Relief (BRR) across a number of additional Enterprise Zone sites. Government guidance makes it clear that both BRR and ECA incentives will not be available on the same Enterprise Zone site.
More details on the SCR Enterprise Zone sites can be found here.
