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Government updates ADZ plans
Published: 2009-07-02 14:30:31
Housing minister John Healey received a positive response from a number of local authorities to his request for potential infrastructure pilot schemes that could make use of accelerated development zone (ADZ) funding.
Birmingham’s City Region Board has endorsed the development in principle of an ADZ for eight transport infrastructure projects across six of the seven participating authorities in the region at its most recent meeting.
Sheffield City Council is also reported to be looking at setting up an ADZ. Council leader Paul Scriven (pictured, left) said: “We see an ADZ as a major tool to be able to go ahead with regeneration projects”, and he wants the government “to bring forward legislation to allow us to do it as a local authority area”.
Under an ADZ, a tax increment financing scheme, infrastructure investment is financed from the anticipated flow of increased property tax that is expected to result from the improved infrastructure.
One criticism of the initial ADZ proposal is that it appears to be designed for use across authority borders rather than within single authorities. But discussions continue and several authorities, including Birmingham, sent representatives to a Whitehall cross-departmental meeting on ADZs on 26th May.
Advocates of ADZs hope that there will be agreement by the end of the summer on the operational details of ADZs. The government’s response is promised for the Pre-Budget Report scheduled for early November, 2009.