Issue - meetings

RESOLVED that the Tax Site Gateway Policy be approved and delegated authority be given to officers to sign the policy on behalf of the Council to allow the Tax Site within the District’s administrative boundary to proceed.

Executive considered a detailed report, presented by the Portfolio Holder for Growth, which provided an update on the proposals for a Tax Site Gateway Policy for the East Midlands Investment Zone (EMIZ) in the context of proposals for a Tax Site within the Council’s administrative boundary.

Following its formal constitution in March 2024, the East Midlands Mayoral County Combined Authority (EMMCCA) became the accountable body for the EMIZ and were the responsible body for obtaining Government approval for the EMIZ proposals.

In April 2024, Executive resolved to support the proposals for the East Midlands

Investment Zone on behalf of the Council noting the opportunities that would arise from this significant amount of inward investment planned for the region.

The report allowed Members to consider whether the Council should approve, and thereby, become a signatory to the proposed Tax Site Gateway Policy to allow the Tax Site to proceed. It outlined how the draft Tax Site Gateway Policy ('the Policy’) would be used to ensure that Tax Sites in the EMIZ and the associated tax incentives would promote and encourage the growth of the advance manufacturing sector and green industries within the region.

Moved by Councillor John Ritchie and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that the Tax Site Gateway Policy be approved and delegated authority be given to officers to sign the policy on behalf of the Council to allow the Tax Site within the District’s administrative boundary to proceed.

Reasons for Recommendation

In summary, the report outlined how the draft Tax Site Gateway Policy ('the Policy’) would be used to ensure that Tax Sites in the EMIZ and the associated tax incentives would promote and encourage the growth of the advance manufacturing sector and green industries within the region.

Therefore, the Policy was considered likely to facilitate the creation of higher skilled, higher paid jobs at two large employment sites within the local area with an associated rise in living standards and improved quality of life for those employees. Moreover, the Tax Site at Explore Park was already operational, had plans for further development in the near term and was closely related to settlements and housing allocations within the District.

In those respects, the focus in the Policy on green industries and advance manufacturing at Explore Park supported the growth in the District’s housing supply alongside the opportunity to transform the District’s local economy through accelerating the growth of existing businesses in those sectors and by securing investment from those sectors to develop employment sites in the District to provide more high quality, high value jobs to local people.

As proposed, the draft Policy did not give rise to any significant costs to the Council and any future planning decisions or proposals for business rates relief and/or tax incentives, or any other scheme that had a material impact on the District’s own statutory responsibilities would need the Council’s prior approval.

As the billing authority, the Council would likely administer any business rates relief under the tax incentive policy at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15