The proposal of Suffolk's councils for investment zones will undermine existing local businesses, and bulldoze local decision making and environmental protection, says the Green-led opposition at Suffolk County council.
Andrew Stringer, leader of the county's Green, Lib Dem and Independent group said:
"These zones will create tax free spots dotted around the county which will put the many and diverse Suffolk businesses not lucky enough to be in the zone at a competitive disadvantage.”
“Either they will have to pay taxes to help support those in the zones, or they will be forced to relocate there themselves, hollowing out the economy of the rest of Suffolk.”
"At the same time, in these zones, it appears that local planning and environmental controls will be either removed or seriously eroded. There may well be nothing in these zones to insist, for example, that a business build sustainably with such vital controls as solar panels, high quality insulation and thought for wildlife."
“By eroding such environmental protections, these zones would run counter to the county's and district and borough councils' zero carbon by 2030 goals. Suffolk councils should have politely declined this offer. Other councils like Oxfordshire have done just this because they have fears that this is half-baked."
Robert Lindsay, deputy leader of the group, who is also a Babergh District Councillor, said:
"The Hamilton Road area is right in the centre of Sudbury, immediately next to the conservation area that includes much of the town. Is Babergh Council really so desperate to develop the site that it is prepared to give up its own planning powers for a tax free zone, where environmental and biodiversity controls are likely to be eliminated?”
"Similarly, at Chilton Woods, what will the new residents of the huge Taylor Wimpey estate being built there make of a tax free haven for businesses right next door, where those businesses can seemingly bypass local environmental and planning controls? The same applies to people living around Copdock on the edge of Ipswich, faced with tax havens for industry on their doorstep. What will this do to the economy of Ipswich town centre?”
"Suffolk has oodles of potential to attract entrepreneurial professionals: people who might want to move out of expensive cities like London or Cambridge to start anew with a greener, more pleasant lifestyle. In order to attract them, we believe Suffolk's local authorities need to prioritise making our towns and villages pleasant places for people to live, rather than bribe businesses by giving up local democratic powers and handing out perks and tax havens."