Enterprise Zone
Shortcut to this Page : www.birmingham.gov.uk/ez
A new wave of Enterprise Zones, offering a range of benefits to stimulate development, create new jobs and boost the economy was announced by the Government in March 2011. Enterprise Zones offer simplified planning, discounts on business rates, and new opportunities to fund infrastructure and roll out superfast broadband, together with enhanced support to attract inward investment.
In total 23 Enterprise Zones were allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), who each decided upon the location of their Zone. The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP – a partnership of businesses, local authorities and the education sector working to support private sector growth and job creation – chose Birmingham City Centre as the location for their Enterprise Zone (EZ).
Where is the Enterprise Zone?
The City Centre EZ comprises 26 sites across the city centre, in seven clusters including those identified in the Big City Plan – the city’s strategic vision for the future of the City Centre – as offering significant growth opportunities
- Westside
- Snow Hill District
- Eastside
- Southern Gateway
- Digbeth Creative Cluster
- Birmingham Science Park Aston
- Jewellery Quarter
A plan of the 26 sites is below.
It is focussed on economic sectors which are already clustered in the city centre and which reflect the growth opportunities
- Business and Financial services
- ICT Sector
- Creative Industries
- Digital Media
What is the Enterprise Zone expected to achieve?
The EZ will deliver significant benefits for the region as well as promoting the delivery of the Big City Plan. Over its lifetime, when all the development is delivered, the EZ will
- Secure 1.3m sq metres of new floorspace, of which 700,000 sq metres for business and financial services, digital media, ICT and creative industries
- Create 40,000 new private sector jobs
- Contribute £2.8 billion to the economy in GVA per annum once the above growth is delivered
- Generate, once fully developed, additional business rates of circa £70 million per annum
To achieve this, the EZ will
- Support the realisation of significant growth opportunities through an innovative approach to planning and investment in infrastructure to unlock development sites
- Promote development and investment opportunities through targeted marketing
- Support small and medium sized businesses in key sectors through business rates relief, access to high speed broadband, and simplified planning (find out more about our new Local Development Orders).
More details on these benefits are included in the attached leaflet.
Last Updated : 16th May 2012