i54 firms are to get £275,000 discount

Businesses moving into the i54 site in South Staffordshire will be given a business rate discount of up to £275,000 each – but Jaguar Land Rover will miss out, it was announced today.

The i54 business park, on the border with Wolverhampton, was promised tax and planning benefits as part of the government's decision to name it an Enterprise Zone. But the plots taken up by JLR's planned £355 million engine plant have not been included in proposals to discount business rates.

South Staffordshire Council leader, Councillor Brian Edwards, confirmed that all other companies which have announced their move into i54, including Moog and Eurofins, will benefit from the discount.

He said the deal with JLR had been negotiated separately to the new Enterprise Zone agreement, including the decision to introduce business rate exemptions.

"It is a substantial discount for a company and I'm sure it will attract more businesses into the i54," he said.We are around two-thirds full at the moment and I understand there has been a great deal of interest from a number of other companies."

There are still five empty plots at the business park.

The offer from the Department for Communities and Local Government, which is running the Enterprise Zone programme, means that each business to move into the i54 will benefit from a business rate holiday for five years.

The discount will be limited to £275,000 per business, meaning each firm will save around £55,000 a year.

South Staffordshire Council can then claim back the amount not received in business rates from the government.

Councillor Edwards said this cash would be ploughed into a new sliproad leading to the M54 motorway.

"A prerequisite of JLR choosing i54 for the site of their new engine plant was direct access to the M54," he said.

The council will discuss the issue on Tuesday.