Council Leader writes to Chancellor

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, has expressed her deep frustration after the Industrial area of Ellesmere Port was excluded from the latest proposals on Investment Zones.

Councillor Gittins has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP following today’s budget announcement.

Said Councillor Gittins in her letter: “At no stage in this process has it been clear that only Mayoral Combined Authorities will be considered, and indeed all upper tier councils were invited to bid. It seems that selection decisions have not been made based on the objective merits of the cases presented.”

Ellesmere Port is home to one of the UK’s most prominent industrial clusters, with a substantial need for new investment to make the transition to low carbon operation, including industrial Hydrogen. In partnership with local businesses, a compelling case was presented for an Investment Zone enabling the re-investment of business rates, investment in supporting infrastructure, and to enable substantial investment to create local jobs. It was a proposal of international significance.

Councillor Gittins has asked for further information on:

• What assessment has been made of the Ellesmere Port proposal by officials?
• What evidence does the government have that Investment Zone proposals within Mayoral Combined Authorities were each superior to the proposals put forward by areas outside the Combined Authorities?
• What rationale does the Government have in biasing public support in favour of businesses that operate inside a Combined Authority area, in comparison to those which do not, and whether any economic or legal advice has been received on the distortionary impact on trade?

The letter in full:

Dear Chancellor,

INVESTMENT ZONES

I am writing to express my deep frustration at the exclusion of the industrial area of Ellesmere Port from your latest proposal on Investment Zones.

Ellesmere Port was explicitly mentioned in the Government’s Growth Plan, following engagement with officials which led us to believe that our area was to be regarded as a priority. Like many areas across the country, we submitted proposals in response to the initiative of the former Prime Minister and former Chancellor in September 2022.

Ellesmere Port is home to one of the UK’s most prominent industrial clusters, with a substantial need for new investment to make the transition to low carbon operation, including industrial Hydrogen. In partnership with local businesses, we presented a compelling case for an Investment Zone enabling the re-investment of business rates, investment in supporting infrastructure, and to enable substantial investment to create local jobs. It was a proposal of international significance.

I do recognise that the previous Chancellor’s approach was unaffordable and reckless, with its focus on deregulation of planning powers and expansion of the overall number of areas beyond the original focus. We were not therefore surprised that, as one of a series of government U-turns at the time, the Investment Zone initiative was scaled back.

Nevertheless, we were encouraged at the time by the Government statement that you would continue to support “use this programme to catalyse a limited number of the highest potential knowledge-intensive growth clusters, including through leveraging local research strengths”.

You further committed the government to “work closely with mayors, devolved administrations, local authorities, businesses and other local partners to consider how best to identify and support these clusters, driving growth while maintaining high environmental standards”.

This fitted well with the proposals for Ellesmere Port, which include a close partnership with Chester University and other academic and private sector expertise and offers substantial growth potential.

We were therefore deeply disappointed that the list of areas selected for Investment Zones makes no reference to the rationale for particular areas, and instead simply lists areas covered by Mayoral Combined Authorities.

While I don’t doubt that there are many areas deserving of investment within those areas, this approach is quite clearly biased against areas which fall outside Combined Authorities, but which – like Ellesmere Port – offer a more compelling case for investment.

At no stage in this process has it been clear that only Mayoral Combined Authorities will be considered, and indeed all upper tier councils were invited to bid. It seems that selection decisions have not been made based on the objective merits of the cases presented.

Please could you respond with information on:

• What assessment has been made of the Ellesmere Port proposal by officials?
• What evidence does the government have that Investment Zone proposals within Mayoral Combined Authorities were each superior to the proposals put forward by areas outside the Combined Authorities?
• What rationale does the Government have in biasing public support in favour of businesses that operate inside a Combined Authority area, in comparison to those which do not, and whether any economic or legal advice has been received on the distortionary impact on trade?

I look forward to your response to these points.

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, and to Justin Madders MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston.