THE region's 'enterprise zones' will receive no upfront cash - despite being billed as a £100m policy to win investment and jobs, it has emerged.
The small print of the Budget book lays bare that the only cost of the scheme to the Treasury is in lost taxes, because companies will pay no business rates for five years.
Yet when the plan for zones was first announced last month, by Chancellor George Osborne, Treasury sources suggested that£100m would be allocated in the Budget.
Two of the 21 zones will be in the North-East, in Tyneside and Tees Valley, where up to half a dozen possible sites are under consideration.
Wednesday's Budget book reveals that the £100m figure has now been cut to just £20m of anticipated business rate relief next year, rising to £80m a year by the end of the parliament.
And the promise of government cash for superfast broadband connections has now been downgraded to "guaranteeing the most supportive regulatory environment and, if necessary, public funding".
* For a full report, see The Northern Echo today.
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