The Government has announced 18 new Enterprise Zones and extended eight zones as part of its Spending Review that will boost growth and create new jobs.

These 26 new and extended Enterprise Zones will cover 3,226 hectares, an area equivalent to 4,529 standard sized football pitches.

Enterprise Zones are a key part of the Government’s strategy for enabling growth in local areas. Current Enterprise Zones have strong sectoral focus in automotive aerospace, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing.

The new ones bring to the mix the very first agri-tech and advanced ceramics Enterprise Zones.

Helping to rebalance the economy, nine of the new and extended Enterprise Zones are in the Northern Powerhouse.

Fifteen of them are in smaller towns or rural areas taking the Enterprise Zones programme beyond core cities and major urban areas.

The benefits to business of locating to an Enterprise Zone are business rates discounts or enhanced capital allowances (in assisted areas). And local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) retain 100 per cent of the business rates for 25 years to invest in local economic growth.

In total there will be 44 Enterprise Zones in England – 18 new, 24 existing (of which eight have extensions), plus Blackpool Airport and Plymouth Enterprise Zones which were previously announced in the Budget that took place in March 2015.