SMALL towns and rural areas are among 26 new and extended Enterprise Zones announced by the government.

In total, 15 rural Enterprise Zones were announced in the 2015 spending review and autumn statement on Wednesday (25 November).

The government was setting aside the £12bn it had promised for its Local Growth Fund, said Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Osborne said: "I am announcing the creation of 26 new or extended Enterprise Zones, including 15 zones in towns and rural areas from Carlisle to Dorset to Ipswich."

Enterprise Zones are part of the government's strategy for enabling growth in local areas.

Current Enterprise Zones have strong sectoral focus in automotive aerospace, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing.

This latest announcement brings into the mix the very first agri-tech and advanced ceramics Enterprise Zones.

Fifteen of them are in smaller towns or rural areas taking the Enterprise Zones programme beyond core cities and major urban areas.

Nine of the new and extended Enterprise Zones are in the Northern Powerhouse - a move that the government says will help rebalance the economy.

The benefits to business of locating to an Enterprise Zone are business rates discounts or enhanced capital allowances (in assisted areas).

Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) retain 100% of the business rates for 25 years to invest in local economic growth.

In total there will be 44 Enterprise Zones in England – 18 new, 24 existing (of which eight have extensions), plus Blackpool Airport and Plymouth Enterprise Zones which were previously announced in the Budget that took place in March 2015.

The 26 new and extended Enterprise Zones are:

* Aerohub Extension (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP)
* Aylesbury Vale (Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP)
* Bristol Temple Quarter and Bath and Somer Valley (West of England LEP)
* Birmingham Enterprise Zone Curzon Street (Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP )
* Cambridge Compass (Greater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough LEP)
* Carlisle Kingmoor Park (Cumbria LEP)
* Ceramics Valley (Stoke and Staffordshire LEP)
* Cheshire Science Corridor (Cheshire and Warrington LEP)
* Didcot Growth Accelerator (Oxfordshire LEP)
* Dorset Green (Dorset LEP)
* Enterprise M3 (Enterprise M3 LEP)
* Enviro-Tech (Hertfordshire LEP)
* Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft Enterprise Zone Extension (New Anglia LEP)
* Greater Manchester Life Science (Greater Manchester LEP)
* Heart of the South West (Heart of the South West LEP)
* Hillhouse Chemicals and Energy (Lancashire LEP)
* Humber Enterprise Zone Extension (Humber LEP)
* Infinity Park Derby Extension (D2N2 LEP)
* Luton Airport (SEMLEP)
* M62 Corridor (Leeds City Region LEP)
* NE Round 2 (North East LEP)
* New Anglia (New Anglia LEP)
* Newhaven (Coast to Capital LEP)
* North Kent Innovation Zone (South East LEP)
* Tees Valley Enterprise Zone Growth Extension (Tees Valley Unlimited LEP)
* York Central (York, North, Yorkshire & East Riding LEP)

The Dorset Green bid was granted following an application partly developed by Purbeck District Council with the support of the Homes and Communities Authority.

Cherry Brooks, Purbeck's spokesperson for economy and infrastructure, said: "This is a great opportunity to stimulate regeneration that will increase jobs, not only in the district but across Dorset.

"It also provides the impetus to create an advanced engineering cluster of excellence here in Purbeck."

Enterprise Zone status was a huge boost for the existing businesses, providing confidence in the site's long-term future, said Councillor Brooks.

Councillor Brooks added: "This status will also provide significant encouragement for new private sector investment in the site."

Enterprise Zone status would provide a range of benefits for businesses, including a five-year business rate holiday for companies relocating to the site.

It would also enable business rates generated from new development to be retained and spent locally to support the site.

Other benefits include access to superfast broadband and streamlined planning permission.

The Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership, which recognises the opportunities provided by Dorset Green, supported the application.