'Unique' plan to boost city; RECESSION: PM urged to back investment scheme.

Byline: By Neil Elkes

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown is being urged to back a recession-busting initiative which will generate massive investment and bring 44,000 new jobs to the West Midlands.

The region's eight local authorities and business leaders are backing calls for a series of Accelerated Development Zone, or ADZ, to boost the local economy.

But the plan needs government backing to go ahead so chairman of the City Region and Birmingham Council leader Mike Whitby has made a detailed pitch for support in a letter to Gordon Brown The new ADZs would allow the councils to borrow money for investment in key areas and then use a proportion of the business rates generated following development to pay off the loans.

The City Region leaders have already earmarked several projects for ADZ status including the Birmingham Eastside development, Birmingham Wholesale Markets, Bordesley Park, Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension rapid transit scheme, city centre to Airport rapid transit scheme, M6 J10 improvements, M5 J2 improvements and i54 Wolverhampton.

Coun Whitby (Con, Harborne) said: "The city-region's ideas for an ADZ are both radical and unique. We are working with a concept based on evidence from Chicago, made relevant to the UK economy through the work of Core Cities and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"Our proposals are the first, and by far the most radical, to come forward, because we have seen what an exciting opportunity ADZs present. If successful, we will be in a position to drive forwards our region's competitiveness and deliver the massive infrastructure projects which will help underpin the regional, and national, recovery from the current downturn."

The scheme depends on the Government agreeing to let local councils keep a proportion of business rates generated in the ADZs to ensure an income stream and pay off the loans.

There is a funding gap of pounds 1.03 billion over the next ten years for the eight earmarked projects, but city business leaders estimate their development could be worth an extra pounds 202 million per year on the business rates - ensuring the project borrowing is repaid by 2025. The Treasury would also benefit from the boost in income.

In his letter Coun Whitby said: "We regard our ADZ initiative as being of national significance.

It is widely recognised that, when the current economic downturn runs its course, it will be the major cities and city-regions that will lead the country back to recovery.

As the largest city-region we will play a key role in the economic recovery of the Midlands and the UK."

He added that they are working on a number of other initiatives to tackle worklessness and raise investment.

CAPTION(S):

Radical: Coun Mike Whitby.