HALF-a-million pounds of taxpayers’ money will be spent marketing Basingstoke in a bid to attract new business to the borough.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s decision-making Cabinet has earmarked spending £200,000 in the next financial year, followed by an annual £100,000 until April 2018 for “marketing Basingstoke”.

The cash will be used to persuade to potential investors to come to the town. Council chiefs say the spending plan will help bring money to the borough, as well as jobs.

Council leader Councillor Clive Sanders said: “If we want to compete in attracting new investment with Reading, Swindon and Bracknell then we have to be professional about the way we go about it.

“This investment is to make sure that the decision-makers at companies are aware of the benefits of Basingstoke when we wouldn’t otherwise feature on their radar.”

Cllr Sanders added that successful marketing of the town goes hand in hand with the administration’s ambition to improve the Leisure Park, revamp the Top of The Town, and regenerate the Basing View business park.

It would also build on the recent successes of bringing Airkix to the Leisure Park, Network Rail’s new regional hub to Basing View, and John Lewis at home and Waitrose’s new combined store to Basing View.

Attracting new business into the borough is more important than ever following Government changes to business tax.

Before April 2013, all business rates collected by councils were sent to Government which redistributed the money back to local authorities using an extremely complicated formula.

Under the new scheme, the borough council will keep 40 per cent of business tax as well as pocketing 20 per cent from new growth.