Local Government & Development
Exam Tip
Make sure you are clear about the different roles of national and local governments in the planning process
- Local governments compete to create attractive business environments, such as science and technology parks, which attract:
- Domestic investors from within the UK
- Foreign investors from overseas
- Highly skilled workers
- The outcome of regeneration projects is determined by how successfully the local government develops plans and attracts investment
- A comprehensive economic development plan will need to consider both new housing and infrastructure
- An attractive business environment can be achieved:
- In enterprise zone areas
- Through the development of science parks
Enterprise zones
- There are 48 designated enterprise zones across the UK
- The local government in each area can decide what incentives they give to businesses in an enterprise zone, such as:
- Discount on business rates for premises
- Tax relief
- More relaxed planning regulations
- Superfast broadband
- Government support for start-up costs
Science parks
- Science parks are designated areas created to promote innovation and act as hubs for advances in high technology e.g. pharmaceuticals, cyber-engineering
- They are intended to:
- Support regeneration in economically depressed regions and cities of the UK by attracting new businesses and start-ups, which promotes economic growth
- Encourage the start-up and development of innovation-led, high-growth knowledge-based business
- Provide an environment where international businesses can develop links with universities and higher education institutes
- Raise the value of the business located there, as well as the income of people working there
- To encourage investment, science parks are often located in enterprise zones
- Local governments will manage the infrastructure and provide the original funding for the parks as follows:
- A thriving science park requires additional services and amenities to meet the needs of many businesses, employees and students all in one place
- The economic benefits extend to the local cafes, shops, gyms, childcare settings and accommodation providers, improving employment opportunities in the local area
- There are over 100 science parks in the UK, employing about 75,000 people
- Thames Valley Science Park (established in 2018) in Reading:
- The University's science park is based next to the M4 for easy access to important cities (e.g. London) and transport links (e.g. Heathrow)
- It is home to more than 80 companies, ranging from small start-up companies to global research and development organisation
- The companies represent a wide range of technologies and sectors, from digital media to pioneering medical equipment
- Large companies, such as Oracle, Huawei and Symantec, have based their UK Headquarters at the science park
- The science park has recently diversified into film and TV production to attract more domestic and foreign investment
- The Natural History Museum in London has opened a new facility at the science park to house around 27 million objects; it is the largest collection move since the 1880s
Exam Tip
You need to know a named example of a science park to exemplify how it can be used to attract inward investment by the local government and encourage economic growth