Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP), is delighted to announce it has successfully secured Enterprise Zone status for three strategic sites in the Aylesbury Vale area at Silverstone, Westcott Venture Park and Arla/Woodlands.
Announced today by Chancellor George Osborne as part of the spending review, the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone will facilitate the strengthening of infrastructure at the Silverstone, Westcott Venture Park and Arla/Woodlands sites; attract and develop new business investment; speed up the growth and development of local enterprise; and help address the business critical infrastructure needs of the sites. In addition to strengthening the commercial offer of these three strategic employment locations, Enterprise Zone status will support the drive for inward investment projects from abroad.
Richard Harrington, Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted with the news that Aylesbury Vale has been allocated Enterprise Zone status. The Enterprise Zone aligns directly with our Strategic Economic Plan, which identifies Silverstone, Westcott Venture Park and Arla/Woodlands as three key strategic employment locations all of which have greater, untapped potential to add value to the high performance technology/motorsport; space propulsion/environmental engineering; and agri-food/human health sectors.”
Bucks secures Enterprise Zone status: 2
Richard added: “The scale and specialised nature of the development, the mix of uses and the highly strategic position, at the heart of the ‘Golden Triangle’ and at the centre of the ‘Oxford to Cambridge Arc’ will enable Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone to challenge internationally as a major new employment location over the coming years.”
Councillor Steve Bowles, Vice-Chairman of Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP and the AVDC Cabinet Member for Economic Development was delighted with the announcement: “Today’s news is a fantastic boost for the local economy, we already have world class businesses operating on the three sites and by securing the prestigious Enterprise Zone status we will be able to offer further support for our existing businesses and help attract new investment and high quality jobs to Buckinghamshire and Aylesbury Vale.”
Todays announcement will enable Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP to establish an Enterprise Zone in a region which is nationally renowned as one of the most entrepreneurial and knowledge based rural economies in the whole of the UK, but has historically suffered because of a lack of high quality transport infrastructure serving to constrain growth and undermine the location as an attractive business location.
In total, Enterprise Zone designation will cover over 96 hectares of commercial land with the potential for the creation of over 8,000 new jobs.
BTVLEP’s overarching commercial direction for the Aylesbury Vale Enterprise Zone is to develop and grow the current high skills base; indigenous industrial/research strengths; natural growth in population and housing numbers; and the number of imminent infrastructure developments in the region to deliver significant growth, jobs creation and productivity improvements in the high performance technology/motorsport; space propulsion/environmental engineering; and agri-food/human health sectors.
