£15m Enterprise Zone development fund launches

A £15m fund to help developers within the Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone to kickstart building projects has now launched.

The Enterprise Zone consists of 26 sites around the city which have the potential over the next 25 years to deliver 1.3m square metres of development and create 40,000 jobs within key industries, such as financial services, digital media and creative industries.

The Site Development and Access Fund was approved by Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet as part of the Enterprise Zone Investment Plan.

The fund will provide a mix of loans and grants to prospective property developers with a focus on sites that will generate business rate growth and employment opportunities.

Councillor Tahir Ali, cabinet member for development, jobs and skills, said: “Birmingham quite rightly has a reputation as a city of enterprise and innovation, offering opportunities for business and employment.

“We’re committed to promoting economic growth but to do this we need to do all we can to help businesses overcome some of the barriers to finance which will in turn encourage private sector investment and generate additional business rates.”

Chris Webster, GBSLEP Board Director with responsibility for the Enterprise Zone, said: “The EZ is already making significant progress at sites including Arena Central and at Snow Hill and there are a number of important projects in the pipeline which will continue this momentum.

“But we acknowledge there are a number of schemes that need support to get them off the ground given the challenge developers face in getting finance.

“We hope to be able to get this work up and running so that we can see further progress on the ground quickly.”