HC Deb 17 January 1995 vol 252 c411W
Mr. Nicholas Brown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made with the creation of an enterprise zone in the catchment area of the former Swan Hunter's shipyard following the Minister for Industry's statement to the House on 12 May 1993,Official Report, columns 801–809.

Sir Paul Beresford

Progress on proposals for new enterprise zone sites on Tyneside has been necessarily delayed during the period of uncertainty over the future of the Swan Hunter shipyards. The three local authorities concerned and the Tyne and Wear development corporation have now submitted a package of sites for consideration and this is being examined by the Government Office for the North East.

Mr. Nicholas Brown

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear on(a) the work of the existing city challenge projects in inner west Newcastle and North Shields and (b) employment levels in the former shipbuilding communities of east Newcastle and Wallsend.

Sir Paul Beresford

No decision has been taken on the sites to be included in the proposals for a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear. As soon as agreement is reached, the relevant planning authorities will be asked to submit detailed economic analyses of their proposals.