Out-Law News 2 min. read

Scottish Government announces incentives for specialised 'enterprise areas'


The Scottish Government has announced plans to encourage investment in four specific 'enterprise areas'.

Finance Secretary John Swinney announced 14 sites across the country, which could benefit from reduced business rates and a streamlined planning process, on a visit to Irvine-based pharmaceutical company Glaxosmithkline.

The plant will form part of the Life Sciences Enterprise Area along with sites in Moray, the Highlands, Edinburgh and Midlothian.

Each area will offer sector-specific incentives to encourage private investment, the Scottish Government said. It added that the new areas should be operational in April.

A further two enterprise areas are being created to focus on the low carbon and renewables sector. The Renewable Energy Enterprise East Area will take in the Port of Dundee and the Port of Leith, and the Renewable Energy Enterprise North Area will be made up of Hatson and Lyness in Orkney, Arnish in the Western Isles and Nigg and Scrabster in the Highlands.

The final enterprise area will cover other manufacturing and growth sector opportunities, and will initially include Creative Clyde in Glasgow and the aerospace industry at Prestwick International.

Swinney said that the sites had been selected by the Scottish Government, in conjunction with enterprise agencies Scottish Enterprise and Highland and Islands Enterprise, due to their "clear, achievable opportunities" for development in the short term. Many of the locations included in the enterprise areas were facing particularly challenging economic conditions, he said.

"We are taking this innovative sectoral approach as it will make better use of resources and target investment where it will be most effective. It will also allow us to build on the momentum that Scotland has been generating in life sciences, renewable and the creative sector as well as promote partnership working," he said.

The incentives available in each enterprise area, which may include reduced business rates, will depend on the characteristics of each site, Swinney said. He added that a streamlined planning protocol had been agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).

Other possible incentives include potentially targeting enterprise areas for superfast broadband under the new National Broadband Strategy, and priority investment assistance from Scotland Development International, he said.

Enterprise zones were one of the main programmes used to encourage urban regeneration in the 1980s and '90s, and the creation of new zones in England was announced as part of the March 2011 Budget. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced 21 of these zones over the course of 2011, however unlike the scheme announced by Swinney the English zones target specific geographic areas rather than industry sectors.

A similar scheme in Wales, which was announced in October, targets five geographic and industry-specific areas.

The scheme was welcomed by the Scottish Chamber of Commerce. Chief Executive Liz Cameron said that the Scottish Government's sectoral approach would enable it to focus on "key areas of the economy".

"We note that the detail of how the enterprise areas will operate is still being worked out and it is crucial that business is a partner in this. There is an opportunity here for the Scottish Government to build on the goodwill and expertise of the private sector in Scotland, to ensure that even in the current difficult economic climate enterprise areas are a successful and sustainable initiative," she said.

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