A Coventry MP’s criticised the government for leaving Coventry off a list of 10 areas that need help to encourage businesses to settle and create jobs. 
Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country are just two areas that will benefit first from Enterprise Zones.
The status will give companies setting up in certain postcodes things like cheaper rates, rents and superfast broadband so they can try to grow their business there.
11 other places in the UK will find out whether they will be entered onto the scheme in the summer.
Bob Ainsworth, MP for Coventry North East, said Coventry’s omission was shocking, considering it ticks all the right boxes:
“The Chancellor said that these were for for areas of need and opportunity – now if Coventry is not an area of need and opportunity I don’t know what is and yet Coventry has been overlooked.”
“One would need to see what benefits are coming to those areas designated before one pushed for Coventry.”
“But the big single problem that we’ve got is that all of the monies that were spent through the Regional Development agencies that have led to the developments like the Ricoh Arena, like Ansty Park, have effectively been removed and the organisations that have replaced them haven’t got any money, or have got a fraction.”
“There isn’t going to be the kind of government support for enterprise that the government said he wanted.”
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:18 am