Chancellor supports major north London regeneration projects
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne also visits local business that will benefit from £2,000 cashback on jobs from Sunday.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has lent his support to two major regeneration projects in North London.
Having pledged government support for the regeneration of the Brent Cross area in his Budget speech, he visited Brent Cross Shopping Centre and met with the Council, owners of the Brent Cross shopping centre, developers and retailers to discuss plans for the regeneration of the area.
This will include the building of 7,500 new homes, a new building for three local schools, health, recreation and community facilities, new pedestrian and cycle bridges, new highways and a new Thameslink station.
The regeneration will also double the size of the shopping centre and will create up to 6,000 new jobs.
At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a new £150 million government fund for the regeneration of urban housing estates. He visited Grahame Park in Colindale, the housing association of which is bidding for support from the new fund.
Built in the 1970s, the housing estate is in need of modernisation. As part of the regeneration, New Hendon Village is being built. This will almost double the number of homes to 3,000, making it one of the largest housing led regeneration projects in England. There will also be community facilities, shops and parks.
Here, the Chancellor met with the housing association, developers and residents to talk through their plans and visited the construction site where new homes are in the process of being built.
On the last stop on his tour of the local area, the Chancellor visited a local cafe, Yummies, that will pay 50% less in employer National Insurance from Sunday with the start of the new Employment Allowance – a £2,000 cashback on jobs.
From Sunday 6 April, the Employment Allowance will give businesses up to £2,000 off their employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) bill. 1.25 million businesses will benefit with 450,000 paying no employer NICs at all.
The Chancellor said:
“The government’s long term economic plan is working. Britain’s hard work is paying off and the country is on the path to prosperity. Because we’re getting the public finances back under control, we can support vital regeneration projects like this, creating jobs which lead to greater security for hardworking families.
“A key part of our plan involves backing small business and enterprise. The £2,000 cashback on jobs that businesses will receive from this Sunday will make a real difference and help companies to invest, expand and grow.”