The coalition Government also confirmed its intention of abolishing the Regional Development Agencies, a move which will require primary legislation.
The Budget report explained that the administration would support the creation of strong local enterprise partnerships, particularly those based around England’s major cities and other natural economic areas, to enable improved co-ordination of public and private investment in transport, housing, skills, regeneration and other areas of economic development.
The Government has also signalled that it is considering the most appropriate framework of incentives for local authorities to support growth, including exploring options for business rate and council tax incentives, which would allow local authorities to reinvest the benefits of growth into local communities. A White Paper detailing all these proposals is promised later this summer.
In a statement the Planning Officers Society welcomed these initiatives, saying it ‘strongly supports locally led economic development initiatives and enterprise partnerships based on local communities working together to deliver effective strategic planning for economic regeneration’.
The POS added that ‘the trial of LDOs, which initially we thought would create more pitfalls than benefits, has demonstrated that when properly undertaken LDOs can deliver fast and effective business growth’.
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