Bristol Temple Meads Enterprise Zone will be expanded along with Somer Valley in Bath. The decision was announced as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, increasing the number of zones in the UK to 44.
George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol said:
“The agreement to our request for the expansion of the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone is great news for Bristol and the city region as is it is for the Somer Valley in Bath and North East Somerset. The expansion of the country’s most successful Enterprise Zone will allow us to continue our great work in attracting businesses from the hi-tech, creative, professional services and digital sectors to the region. It will also help us to drive forward our ambition to create a first class gateway to the region at Temple Meads station. We look forward to agreeing details with government to build on our success over the years to come.”
Colin Skellett, Chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership said:
“The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership very much welcome the news in the Chancellor’s statement to extend existing Enterprise Zones in Bristol (Bristol Temple Quarter and Somer Valley) and look forward to more detail. This builds on our success of attracting new businesses and jobs to the area and demonstrates the strength of the West of England joint working. This will be a terrific boost to the future economy of the Somer Valley with opportunities for business to relocate and grow, providing investment and jobs for the long term. Our expectation is that additional funds raised by the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone expansion will assist in the redevelopment of Temple Meads station – one of the last major city centre mainline railway stations not to have been refurbished to 21st century standards.”
The Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone has already attracted over 2000 jobs and aims to create a new quarter for the city and attracting over 17,000 jobs over 25 years.
