4,000-job North East Investment Zone to go live next month. Plans to establish a North East Investment Zone across four sites in the region are to kick off next month.
The Government and North of Tyne Combined Authority have issued details of the zone’s four locations, including designating the River Tyne Economic Corridor, the International Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Site (IAMSS) in Sunderland and South Tyneside as ‘growth sites’ that will give business located there priority access to a co-investment fund.
Meanwhile Blyth Energy Central, and NETpark in County Durham will become the ‘tax sites’ offering firms their access to tax reliefs including on business rates and Employers’ National Insurance among other measures.
Overall the Investment Zone is backed with £160m of Government funding over the next 10 years and is expected to leverage £3bn of private sector investment creating 4,000 jobs. The focus of the Investment Zone, which sits alongside the newly confirmed £4.2bn North East devolution deal, is to the region’s clean energy and green manufacturing businesses.
New and expanding businesses across the four sites will have access to a package which includes £30m of skills funding; £10m to unlock research and development activity and £30m of site-enabling infrastructure funding. The plans also come with a commitment from the public sector to support swift implementation of investment plans.
Coun Graeme Miller, interim portfolio holder for finance and investment for the new combined authority, and leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “This investment will help us drive forward our ambitious growth plans and create opportunities for residents through new jobs, not just directly through these sites but also in supply chains and supporting sectors across the region.
Working together as a group of council leaders we are committed to getting behind businesses and making the most of the assets we have here to position the North East as the go-to place for innovation that creates real impact for our economy.”
The plans were developed with the support of the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland – working alongside businesses, colleges and other stakeholders.
A spokesperson for Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland Universities said: “The Investment Zone will support the region’s universities in driving innovation and further boost the growth of the green economy creating the jobs of the future.”