THE Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced that Birchwood in Warrington is to be given Enterprise Zone status.
The announcement came within Mr Osbourn’s Autumn Statement where he announced that twenty-six new Enterprise Zones will be created across the U.K. including a new Cheshire Science Corridor that will join together Cheshire and Warrington’s nationally and internationally significant research facilities at Alderley Park and the nationally significant nuclear cluster at Birchwood in Warrington.
Earlier this year, led by Warrington & Co., the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership submitted an application to the Government for a new Enterprise Zone to be created around the Cheshire Science Corridor across Cheshire and Warrington that included the nuclear cluster area at Birchwood.
Enterprise Zones were established by the government in 2012 with the aim of creating jobs, boosting businesses and encouraging business growth for both new and expanding companies, with the assistance of Government backing. Prior to yesterday’s announcement there were 24 enterprise zones across the country, with five of them located within the North West of England, there are now 44 with eight in the North West.
The benefits to companies within an Enterprise Zone can include business rate discount for occupiers worth up to £275,000 over five years; the development of a simplified planning approach that can assist in the growth of new build and subsequent infrastructure; and more support for superfast broadband. The retained business rates are also used by the Local Enterprise Partnership to then fund development required on the Enterprise Zone sites.
Warrington has a long established nuclear industry resulting from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and then BNFL being headquartered in Warrington and has led Birchwood Park to be the location of an internationally significant nuclear cluster. The National Nuclear Laboratory and Amec Foster Wheeler’s Nuclear Analytical Services laboratory, Europe’s largest commercial radiochemical analysis laboratory, are now both also based in Birchwood.
Birchwood’s nuclear cluster has led to a wide range of nuclear related companies establishing a presence in Warrington so as to be located at the centre of an important nuclear industry, and the diversity of operations in Birchwood has led to a deep and broad cluster around engineering, design, R&D, project management and project delivery.
Further benefits to Warrington’s local economy are also being achieved through Local Growth Fund resources from the Cheshire and Warrington LEP in terms of Investment in Warrington’s strategic road network. This investment will enable the strategic transport network in and around Warrington to be substantially upgraded. Key schemes include Warrington East phase 1, (Birchwood Pinchpoint) project M62 Junction 8 and Centre Park Link.
The government’s Road Investment Strategy (RIS) published in March 2015 also includes a commitment to invest £1.5 billion in the North West region. Schemes directly benefitting Warrington include upgrades to Smart Motorways on a number of junctions both on the M6 and M62, including improvements to junction 22 near Warrington that will improve access to nearby developments. Eventually, all of the motorways around Warrington will be converted to smart motorways.
A number of future highway schemes are also in the pipeline including Waterfront East (Phases 2 and 3, Warrington North Pinch-points and Omega Access Strategy, Southern Gateway Development Area and City Centre Vision Access Package. This package of works will radically overhaul the functioning of the town centre highway system, in readiness for rapid growth and transition to city status.
Terry O’Neill, Leader of Warrington Borough Council said: “The announcement to award Birchwood Enterprise Zone status is hugely significant and has the potential to bring huge commercial opportunity to the area based on the strength of its nuclear business.”
In response to the decision Warrington & Co. Managing Director Steve Park said: “The Cheshire Science Corridor is a strategic employment area that employs over 27,000 people, with 4,500 of them employed within the nuclear industry. This cluster of nuclear expertise – which is in short supply in other locations across the U.K. – not only makes the Enterprise Zone an ideal location for serving the U.K.’s nuclear sector but also has the potential for attracting further commercial research collaborations and start-ups, making Birchwood, Warrington the main nuclear hub of the U.K.”
