Enterprise zones 

Definition

Enterprise zones are designated areas aimed at promoting economic growth, job creation, and investment by providing businesses with various incentives, tax breaks, and infrastructure support. 

What are enterprise zones?

Enterprise zones are designated by the government to encourage economic development in specific geographic areas. Designation criteria may include factors such as unemployment rates, deprivation levels, infrastructure needs, and potential for business growth.

One of the key incentives offered to businesses in enterprise zones is business rate relief, which allows eligible businesses to receive discounted business rates for a specified period. This reduction in business rates can significantly reduce operating costs for businesses and encourage investment in the designated area.

Enterprise zones often receive government funding to invest in infrastructure improvements, such as transportation networks, utilities, telecommunications, and business parks. This infrastructure investment aims to enhance connectivity, accessibility, and the overall business environment within the zone.

The performance of enterprise zones is regularly monitored and evaluated to assess their effectiveness in achieving economic development objectives, job creation targets, and investment outcomes. Monitoring indicators may include business growth, employment levels, investment attraction, infrastructure development, and broader economic impact metrics.

Example of enterprise zones 

There are enterprise zones in many areas and below is a list of each:

• Black Country LEP
• Buckinghamshire local enterprise partnership
• Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership
• Cornwall & Isles of Scilly local enterprise partnership
• Cumbria local enterprise partnership
• D2N2: Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 
• Enterprise M3
• Gfirst LEP
• The Business Board
• Greater Lincolnshire local enterprise partnership
• Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership
• Hertfordshire local enterprise partnership
• Lancashire enterprise partnership
• Leeds City Region enterprise partnership
• Liverpool City Region local enterprise partnership
• LEAP: The local enterprise partnership for London
• North East local enterprise partnership
• OxLEP
• Solent local enterprise partnership
• South East local enterprise partnership
• Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire enterprise partnership
• Swindon & Wiltshire local enterprise partnership
• Thames Valley Berkshire local enterprise partnership
• The Marches local enterprise partnership
• Worcestershire local enterprise partnership
• York & North Yorkshire local enterprise partnership
• Cheshire and Warrington local enterprise partnership
• Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership
• Dorset local enterprise partnership 
• Greater Birmingham & Solihull local enterprise partnership
• Greater Manchester local enterprise partnership
• Hull and East Yorkshire local enterprise partnership
• LLEP: Leicester and Leicestershire enterprise partnership 
• New Anglia: Local enterprise partnership for Norfolk and Suffolk
• Sheffield City Region
• Semlep: South East Midlands local enterprise partnership
• Tees Valley combined authority 
• West of England local enterprise partnership