Northern Lincolnshire’s two councils have been invited by Government to be part of early discussions on the creation of an ‘investment zone’ designed to drive business growth, create jobs and increase wages.
North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Councils are amongst areas listed by the Government following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget statement delivered in the Commons this morning.
According to Government, these new investments zones will apply to specific land areas and will have more liberal planning rules to release land and accelerate development.
The proposals could see a cut in taxes for businesses on these sites for the first ten years, with the Chancellor announcing a variety of benefits such as:
- accelerated tax reliefs for structures and buildings
- 100 per cent relief on qualifying investments in plant and machinery used on the sites
- no stamp duty on purchases of land and buildings for commercial or new residential developments
- no business rates on newly occupied business premises
- for every new employee the business will pay no national insurance on the first £50,000 they earn.
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “Along with our other bids in to the Levelling Up Fund, the potential benefits for North East Lincolnshire are huge, and would make our industrial sites even more attractive to investors.
“Thanks to the support from Government, we have already invested a huge amount in our business community, and have lots of businesses interested in what we have here. To have the tax benefits on a potential range of sites in North East Lincolnshire as well would be highly desirable for any investing business.
“We are looking forward to having productive discussions with Government in the coming weeks and months to try to secure that Investment Zone status and boost business growth and wages for local people.”
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader, North Lincolnshire Council, said: “This latest announcement should mean we can move at a greater pace to enable businesses to invest and grow to create more jobs and drive wages even higher here in North Lincolnshire.
“We have already had a great deal of Government cash to back our plans and these proposals will further simplify the investment process for businesses – it will make areas of the county more attractive and will ensure speed of delivery.
“We’ll work with Government to ensure we can take advantage of these plans for the people in North Lincolnshire, attracting additional investment, creating new jobs and supercharging wages.”
