A proposed £20m fund which aimed to boost facilities like the Food Enterprise Zone (FEZ) in Holbeach has been scrapped.
The Economic Investment Programme was announced by Lincolnshire County Council for five years of funding specifically for the agri-food sector as well as the defence and advanced manufacturing sectors.
But in a report on the 26/27 budget to the current council’s Growth committee recently one paragraph says it is to be ‘withdrawn’.
Coun Liam Kelly, (pictured) the executive member for growth, spoke at Lincolnshire County Council, called the FEZ ‘under occupied’ and said the reason for shelving the £20m programme was due to it being initially financed by loans.
Coun Thomas Dyer, a member of the previous Conservative administration, said the borrowing was intended to pay back by bringing business to the area and said the current Reform administration’s plan ‘lacks aspiration and is unambitious’.
“The council has won its argument after many years and getting more government funding and what we’re looking at now is cut after cut,” he said. “Members of the administration say they’re supporting Lincolnshire businesses and they want them to thrive; this is doing the exact opposite.
“It was building on the success of the FEZ in Holbeach.
“It’s a fantastic facility that’s growing and it is because this council made the decision to invest, borrow money yes, but invest in the community in Holbeach where the private sector weren’t willing to.
“You’re pulling the plug on that funding and there’s no clear plan.”Coun Kelly said it was ‘at the beginning of the journey with discussions’.
“We’re looking at the years ahead of having surpluses that will give the council a position where we are able to afford an economic investment programme without having to burden capital loans on the council tax payer.
“Previous regimes have resulted in the council tax payer bearing those long term costs and losses.
“The FEZ is a fantastic business centre and it supports Lincoln University (sic) there doing fantastic future proofing works for agricultural works. However, it is under occupied.
“We are not optimising these business centres.
“To justify capital loans going forward to support a further economical investment programme where we’re still burdened with losses from previous economic investment does not make sense.
“We have to make what has gone on in the past work first before we further place loans on to the council tax payer.”
