Barnsley town centre Courthouse Campus: a 10.6-acre site, which could be developed into offices for the creative and digital industries, and link with other EZ sites
Sheffield’s new Local Enterprise Partnership is deciding on the sites for its enterprise zone.
The fledgling Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership is looking towards the manufacturing sector and hi-tech industries to close the region’s productivity gap by £2bn within a decade.
The focus for this is expected to be the enterprise zone awarded to the Sheffield region by the government, which the LEP hopes to split across two or more sites to maximise its potential.
Sheffield’s LEP has taken readily to its role, according to agents, superseding the outgoing regional development agency Yorkshire Forward as the “primary mover”.
Its chairman, James Newman, expects it to be the driving force behind Sheffield’s economic development, and plans to keep a tight rein on all its initiatives, including the enterprise zone.
The LEP is expected to decide on the locations this month. Newman says it will strictly govern the sites, making the final decisions on which businesses occupy them.
“The LEP will decide and approve the companies that meet the criteria, not the developers,” he says. “We will look at that closely. We want to create centres of excellence and supply chain activity, and we have to be focused on what we’re trying to do as an LEP.”
Newman says he has already discussed the multiple-site idea with the Treasury.
“We want to make the most of 370 acres,” he says. “We could have several sites with different purposes and sectors, with lots of potential for growth.”
Local authorities in the region, which includes north-east Derbyshire, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, have made a number of submissions.
These have been narrowed down to seven: A1M site in Bassetlaw; Courthouse campus in Barnsley; Chesterfield Waterside; Dearne M1 corridor; Markhamvale Business Park in Derbyshire; sites around the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Sheffield and Rotherham; and Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield Business Park.
The AMP is one of the country’s largest clusters of advanced manufacturers, already hosting Rolls-Royce and Boeing (see p90), and is widely expected to form part of the enterprise zone.
South Yorkshire has made good progress in advanced manufacturing, with 5% growth in output over the past 20 years, and is top of the six industry sectors the LEP plans to develop. The AMP is already well established and could attract inward investors and supply chain businesses relatively quickly.
Guy Gilfillan, head of Lambert Smith Hampton’s Yorkshire operation, says: “The whole idea of the enterprise zone is to generate jobs now. It’s about where you can spend money to achieve maximum results. If you look at the LEP’s key industry sectors, even medical means technology and manufacturing.”
Potential pitfall
However, there is a glitch with the AMP sites. The government has already earmarked some of them for sale on the open market as part of its disposal of Yorkshire Forward’s assets.
Newman admits that he is concerned, and confirms that these sites are important to the LEP’s plans. However, he believes that if “land happened to be in the middle of an enterprise zone”, ministers would be flexible if they were pushed hard.
“I’m realistic enough to know what’s driving it [the sale]. But being asked to pay for RDA assets means we’re being asked to pay for something twice,” he says.
The LEP also plans to stimulate growth by developing a number of sites outside the enterprise zone. These include Dearne Valley, which was previously an enterprise zone, the Doncaster/Sheffield airport growth corridor, Sheffield city centre and the A61 corridor to Clay Cross.
It plans to finance the sites by setting up a JESSICA fund, expected to be in excess of £10m. This will be run through the European Commission, to provide access to private investment and lending from the European Investment Bank.
To achieve this, the LEP is working closely with the European Regional Development Fund team because the EC does not recognise LEPs.
The fund is expected to be operated through Finance Yorkshire, which already distributes EU loans and equity-linked investments to small and medium-sized businesses.
Second round funding
In the short term, the LEP is focusing on making bids for round two of the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund. One of its sponsored projects in the first round – to improve transport links around Doncaster’s Robin Hood airport – received £18m, and Newman is keen to capitalise on this. This round will include programme bids, which will provide financial support over a period for geographic areas rather than for individual sites.
The LEP intends to take a major role in co-ordinating and endorsing the bids, which will be submitted to the government in July.
It has also established four industry groups: advanced manufacturing; creative and digital; property and construction; and tourism, to lead the LEP’s work in each sector. These will combine public and private resources.
According to Newman, the LEP has made better progress in the past couple of months now that the government “has more idea about how this is going to work”.
So far, property professionals seem to concur, and say the LEP is heading in the right direction. Newman believes the government now needs to understand that every LEP is different and therefore to treat each one accordingly. He adds that it also needs to relax its timetable, which is placing more strain on the new bodies than is necessary.
“I’m not 100% happy, but I’m getting there,” he says.
Cluster of sites around the Advanced Manufacturing Park – Sheffield/Rotherham corridor
In an ideal world, the government would want one of these parks in every region. The AMP is already a favourite with the government, with Lord Heseltine and Nick Clegg both paying visits in the space of a few months.
The park provides a cluster location for advanced manufacturers in the region, including aerospace and automotive, and already hosts Boeing and Rolls-Royce – which is considering locating two more production facilities there – as well as research and technology consultancies.
There are sites around the park for a potential enterprise zone that would be highly attractive to hi-tech manufacturing business, creating a supply chain cluster. Sources claim this is certain to be one of the sites chosen.
Yorkshire Forward assets for sale
- Rockingham, junction 36, M1
- Plot 4, Waverley AMP, Rotherham
- Former reclaimed metal salvage site, Potteric Carr, Doncaster
- Grimethorpe Colliery, Grimethorpe, Barnsley
- Hesley Wood spoil heap, Hesley Wood, Sheffield
- Tarmac site, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham
Markham Vale business park
This 200-acre former colliery site is actually in north-east Derbyshire, but has significant infrastructure in place with a junction off the M1 and a rail hub.
The major regeneration scheme has been led by local authorities, which acquired the land under a compulsory purchase order. Development started in 2006. Funding for the project has come from a variety of sources, including the Department for Transport, the Homes and Communities Agency, British Coal and Henry Boot Developments.
All remedial and infrastructure work is now complete and Derbyshire county council estimates that it could accommodate 3m sq ft of commercial floorspace and provide 5,000 jobs in the area. Some businesses have located to the site, but the majority of space is yet to be occupied. Henry Boot has planning design principles agreed with the local planning authorities.
This is a major contender with infrastructure in place and clear ownership, as well as support from planning authorities.
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