Council leader backs defence enterprise zone idea

A think tank's proposals to boost local manufacturing jobs has been backed by a council leader.

The neoliberal think tank Adam Smith Institute (ASI) said the zones in areas such as High Haining on the outskirts of Sunderland and Blaydon Quarry could lead to more local investment and jobs.

The zones would allow industries such as the defence sector to take advantage of "streamlined planning" and "targeted tax incentives", the organisation said.

Sunderland City Council leader Chris Eynon said the plans were the "exact type of outside the box" thinking the region needed.

ASI said investors in its proposed enterprise zones could take advantage of reduced business rates and lower national insurance contributions.

It also said that as part of its plans, each zone would have one large anchor tenant, such as a multinational defence firm that would then kickstart the growth of supply chains around the site.

It said north-east England was particularly well placed to benefit due to the low cost of land and the existing manufacturing workforce, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

ASI official Sebastian Charleton said cutting red tape, fast-tracking planning applications and "bespoke tax cuts" could attract "serious capital investment" to Sunderland.

Eynon said the proposals could "supercharge" the local manufacturing base.

He said: "We need to have a more innovative approach to driving job creation in the North East and such plans as mentioned in the report are the exact type of outside the box approach that can be explored."

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