Hull could be set to secure new Investment Zone status as Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng promises “a new era for Britain” focusing on driving economic growth.
The city was specifically namechecked in the briefing given ahead of the Commons announcement on Friday, along with the West Midlands, Tees Valley and Somerset, as discussions with 38 local and mayoral combined authority areas to set up the new status were outlined. All four Humber authorities have been in talks - with the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communties to set out selection criteria shortly.
Already part of the Humber Freeport - still awaiting a formal launch as the final business plan is worked up, with Mr Kwarteng visiting to break ground on the Pensana site in one of his last acts as Business Secretary - Hull's new zone would be a specific site, with the areas described as “hubs for growth” and “emblematic of the modern Britain that this government want to create”.
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Potential to convert freeports to investment zones on a 'case by case' basis will also be considered. The 'Western Docklands' site, with Smith & Nephew moving out, taking in Albert and William Wright docks and some land directly west of the marina could be seen as a prime option.
Such zones will benefit from “generous, targeted and time-limited tax cuts for businesses, backing them to increase productivity and create new jobs”. It is seen as a further lever to encourage investment in new shopping centres, restaurants, apartments and offices – creating thriving new communities.
Planning rules would also be “liberalised” to release more land for housing and commercial development, with reforms to increase the speed of delivering development.
Time-consuming negotiations between councils and developers over affordable housing contributions will be scrapped and replaced with a set percentage.
Though not specifically mentioning Hull at the desptah box, Mr Kwarteng, a vocal supporter of new Prime Minister Liz Truss in her campaign, said: “The time it takes to get consent for nationally significant projects is getting slower, not quicker, while our international competitors forge ahead. We have to end this. To support growth right across the country, we need to go further, with targeted action in local areas. We will liberalise planning rules in specified agreed sites, releasing land and accelerating development. “And we will cut taxes, with businesses in designated sites enjoying the benefit of generous tax reliefs”.
Investment zones are an element of what the Treasury describes as a major package of more than 30 measures “to tackle high energy bills, drive down inflation and cut taxes to drive growth, while maintaining responsible public finances”.
In his speech to the House of Commons, Mr Kwarteng, said: “Growth is not as high as it needs to be, which has made it harder to pay for public services, requiring taxes to rise. This cycle of stagnation has led to the tax burden being forecast to reach the highest levels since the late 1940s.
“We are determined to break that cycle. We need a new approach for a new era focused on growth. That is how we will deliver higher wages, greater opportunities and sufficient revenue to fund our public services, now and into the future. That is how we will compete successfully with dynamic economies around the world. That is how we will turn the vicious cycle of stagnation into a virtuous cycle of growth.
“We will be bold and unashamed in pursuing growth – even where that means taking difficult decisions. The work of delivery begins today”.
New legislation to accelerate the delivery of around 100 major infrastructure projects across the country will also be set out. Transport, energy, and digital infrastructure are anticipated sectors to benefit.
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