SCIENCE Vale UK, a partnership of employers with South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils, has won through to the next stage in its bid to win Enterprise Zone status.

The partnership, which wants the new status for land at the Harwell science campus and Milton Park industrial eastate, has won out in competition against North West Bicester.

Oxfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) could only choose one county bid, and following presentations last Wednesday, selected the Science Vale UK (SVUK) plan instead of North West Bicester’s scheme for a 5,000-home eco-town.

SVUK will now compete with 27 other bids from around the UK for ten remaining Enterprise Zone allocations. Businesses in the zones get ‘business relief breaks’ for five years, up to a ceiling of £55,000 a year.

Matthew Barber, the leader of the Vale council, said: “I think the LEP chose the best bid and I don’t think it’s premature to say that SVUK has a good chance of getting one of the ten nominations from the Government. Everything is in place for work to start tomorrow if we get the go-ahead, and winning Enterprise Zone status could create thousands of new jobs.”

David Buckle, chief executive of both South Oxfordshire and Vale councils, said he was delighted by SVUK’s success, and added: “We will now work to get our bid into shape to compete on a national level.”

SVUK’s national bid went in last Thursday and Kevin Clark, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Didcot development manager, said: “We should hear back from the Government on whether we have been successful some time in July.”