Brussels, 01/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted, this Wednesday, a decision authorising two joint regional development aid schemes in the United Kingdom.
The schemes in question, which will be applicable until 31 December 2006 to all companies located in the assisted areas and to SMEs located outside them, have as aim to promote investments by the private sector in buildings and to promote real estate development in England. They support urban and rural regeneration projects which would otherwise not be viable.
With regards to the first schemes, which supports speculative developments, the aid will be provided via the intermediary of four instruments in favour of projects that are not aimed at being occupied by a known users at the time of application. In the framework of the second scheme, which supports bespoke developments, the aid will be granted by threes instruments to the identified occupier of the commercial premises who is undertaking the initial investment with the said premises. The spending concerning each of these schemes should be for around EUR 16 and 32 million per year. The eligible projects and the combination of instruments applicable can vary considerably, but, in the majority of cases, given the gap between the development costs and the market values, the applicant will request a subsidy aimed at covering the difference (gap funding).
In its decision, the Commission feels that the two schemes are compatible with the common market. With regards to the aid granted to the assisted areas, the global ceiling for aid will be the maximum aid intensity for the region concerned in the United Kingdom aid map, calculated in percentage terms of the eligible costs of the project. With regards to SMEs, the two schemes stem from the block exemption regulation.