There has been much talk about a return to the 1980′s: Enterprise Zone’s “we’ve been here before”; all they did was shift investment from one place to another and all the investment left as soon as the Enterprise Zone finished – etc, etc.
All of that might be true – but surely we can learn lessons from what went before? And some proper thought around how the Enterprise Zone might fit within a wider economic development and business support and encouragement strategy is surely the key.
What seems reasonably obvious is that Enterprise Zone’s that serve to encourage and further strengthen and develop existing industrial and economic strengths are a particularly good way to encourage longevity of impact. A good example of this is the proposed EZ for the centre of Northampton. Here the emphasis is on precision and performance engineering, building on an existing cluster of expertise within the town and indeed across Northamptonshire. Of course this EZ, if approved, wont be absolutely tied to this label and no doubt will capitalise on other opportunities as they emerge. But by showing a clear target for encouraging new companies in to Northampton that doesn’t rely soley on the advatages of an Enterprise Zone, but will be helped by it, means that it is very likely that those companies will not simply move on when the Enterprise Zone goes away. But, and this is the big but, the EZ provides a tool to convince individuals and companies to take the step, start a business or start a new part of their business in Northampton which they wouldn’t otherwise have done. That has to be good for the UK and for the local economy.
Innovation networks, Innovation Centre networks and Universities have a key role to play here also – they are the nurturers of many of the value add, higher skill, knowledge economy individuals and potential companies that will offer real opportunities to demonstrate the success of an Enterprise Zone. Grown on space, from initial innovation centre space, remains a key issue in many locations. Enterprise Zone’s can help to solve this.
And an element of local policing may also be important, although it will be difficult to restrict one company in favour of another. But to make the very most of an awarded Enterprise Zone a way to support winners who are going to buy in to the local economy for the medium to long term will need to be found.
