Should the Welsh government choose Newport as one of its new enterprise zones, the town’s commercial property market may be set for a prosperous future. The country’s first minister Carwyn Jones recently revealed that Wales will follow in the footsteps of England by setting up the specialist regions, which are designed to boost trade and industry.
Dan Smith, director of M4 Property Consultants, a commercial property advisory company said developments will be needed should Newport make the cut. He told WalesOnline, that while he is encouraged by some of the commercial property projects currently being carried out in Newport, there is definitely room for more. ‘Newport has proved it is a good business location. However, we must continue to increase the employment opportunities available and to do this we must offer a viable alternative to nearby cities.’
Dan Smith, continued: ‘By having an enterprise zone within Newport, we can ensure we are competitive and hopefully build upon the previous successes and attract further businesses to the city.’
He added: ‘I also believe that we must try to attract more industrial companies to the area, not purely rely on the service sector. By doing so, we can broaden the range of employment opportunities and not become overly reliant on serviced office occupiers such as the public sector or the service sector.’
In England up to 21 enterprise zones are to be created. These will offer lower business rates to companies who relocate to them, as well as the promise of more business and relaxed planning laws for commercial property.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said that enterprise zones will be taken forward in Wales, earlier this month. However, he said they could be based around specific industry sectors, with the possibility of them also being ‘virtual,’ meaning they will be without defined geographical borders.
The Welsh Government, although still in discussions with the UK Government, is expecting a budget of around £5m.
Should the plans for Welsh enterprise zones come to fruition, we can expect to see a major increase in commercial property projects in the area.
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