Not over impressed with EZ I agree it is just shifting the jobs market, we need growth and new jobs.

They will simply cost more Green Belt, and therefore mean that an even higher percentage of vital/essential raw food and drink must be imported. They will also inflate the price of real estate even further. These EZ will not benefit either private or public transport, as all bicycles, cars, buses and freight vehicles, also all heavy plant, will continue to be imported, all at extortionate prices. Most of the EZ tenants will be virtual enterprises, employing an average of two, both company directors, most likely providing destitute housewives with financial services, at exorbitant prices.

I need British designed and built agricultural tractors and machinery at a price which I can afford. The Ferguson TD20, built in Coventry in the late 30′s (1935 on) was available as a solid workhorse @ £50 each in the mid, to late 60′s. Today, despite a further 50 years wear, and neglect, they cost £2,500 – £5,000. The Swindon (BMW) Mini is also costing 20 fold as much as the original Longbridge Mini, back in 1960.

Why?

I also need to purchase, or lease, agricultural land, of adequate size, at a price which is affordable.

As an alternative I will be forced to set-up my enterprise in Panama, or even Costa Rica. I have now spent over 5 years searching for suitable premises, at an affordable price, in UK.

How much longer before I quit, please?

I am spending at least £10,000/annum, simply to locate, and view, a possible 3 properties/annum. A return train fare twixt 09:30 -15:30 is at least £50, and not much use to me, Outside these hrs it is at least £100. A seedy motel bed is at least £50/night, and the breakfast totally inedible. My own mobile hotel/office does a steady 50 MPH overnight on the M-Way, and is only costing £50 of diesel/day. Sadly, tyres are £50 each, and I need a new one almost every MoT, at ca. 12,500 miles/annum.

Am I simply growing more grumpy with my slowly receding years?

Business Rate Discounts are a maximum per company of £55,000 p.a. for five years i.e £275,000.
Capital Allowances on investments in plant and machinery are up to a maximum of £100 million and can be set against tax liabilities over years until the allowance is used up.
Capital Allowances will be restricted to just three companies on any one Enterprise Zone.
Capital Allowances will only be available to companies in certain industrial sectors (details to be supplied).

The basic idea is to use the Capital Allowances to attract big companies with smaller supply chain businesses benefiting from the Business Rate Discounts and Site(s) in the Enterprise Zone have to be designated either for Capital Allowances or Business Rate Discounts.Capital Allowance sites will have to be specified in the Finance Bill next year and can only be in Assisted Areas because of State Aid implications.  This may render some of the LEP’s EZ plans as limited, given many Southern LEP’s and EZ’s may not be Assisted Areas.

Investors and Company’s looking to create wealth on the back of the financial benefits of Rate Discounts and Capital Allowances must do their investment research well in advance.  This will also include needing to remain close to what the UK Gov Treasury and BIS Departments are currently doing in regards to reviewing Assisted Areas.

Civil Servants, the Secretary of State and the Chancellor’s particular concern is about ‘additionally’ i.e. creating new jobs not just transferring existing jobs in the local economy to an Enterprise Zone.  Some LEP’s will have multiple Business Rate Discount sites in the Enterprise Zone which carries greater risks around not being able to maximise ‘additionally’.  Equally, many Local Authorities, Tier 1 County’s, Unitary (City) and Tier 2 Districts/Borough have their own Regeneration sites also competing to attract businesses to create jobs.  The only way ‘additionally’ can be controlled is through site ownership, (EZ sites may be in third party ownership and not in Local Authority control).

Investors and business looking to generate growth through EZ’s must therefore be aware that where sites offer Rate Discount then Capital Allowance will only be available elsewhere, this makes good business sense though, an established production engineering company could secure the Capital Allowance to expand whilst encouraging smaller tier 2 and 3 suppliers to co-locate and benefit from Rate Discounts which will allow them to create new jobs on the back of the tier 1 pipeline growth.

Furthermore I was under the impression that many of the UK’s small businesses are small to the extent that they only employ 1-10 people and I am not sure that such zones really cater for that, though I may not fully know enough about that side of it. Ideally I would like to see the government providing direct small business loans with low interest rates. I am sure there are a myriad of reasons why the government cannot do this, eg would anyone then bother getting a loan from a bank?

But when the government want to encourage entrepreneurship and most businesses are crying out for funding this sounds like a more viable way for the government to support fledgling businesses whilst also potentially getting the money back with interest. Thus showing a genuinely Conservative standpoint of encouraging people to get up and create a living for themselves.

I have been trying to get funding for my Commercialisation Centre for IP for years now, I’d love to move into anywhere, let alone an EZ. We currently have around 80 new product concepts, all of which can support the creation of new businesses. Samples- a product designed to stop unmanned and unbarriered railway crossing crashes. A product designed to protect people from terrorist bombings at airports etc. A new mobile phone “app”. Many more. With a little funding we can fill a few EZs and start the local economy, but we need the funding!!

Lots of ideas are useless, lots of empty new buildings are costly, money sitting in low interest accounts is a waste of opportunity. Put them together and you create wealth!!