THE Scottish Government's new Enterprise Areas strategy must not exclude Glasgow from attracting investment in key business sectors, bosses have warned.

As revealed in later editions of yesterday's Evening Times, Finance Secretary John Swinney announced four sectoral Enterprise Areas, designating Pacific Quay, beside the River Clyde, as a Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area.

Mr Swinney unveiled the plans in Irvine, where he also designated three sites in the town Enterprise Areas For Life Sciences. Locations in Moray, in the Highlands, Edinburgh and Midlothian were also given the same status.

He also revealed a Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area was being set up to cover sites in the Western Isles Highland and Orkney.

A Low Carbon/Renewables East Enterprise Area will also be established for the port areas of Dundee and Leith, Edinburgh.

The Glasgow site will be a general manufacturing and growth sectors enterprise area focusing on the creative industries and building on the success of the digital media quarter on the south bank of the river.

Strathclyde University has been encouraging investment in renewables in the key research and design stages and business leaders are warning against investment being displaced to the areas identified by the Government.

The full details of what incentives will be on offer to businesses through the scheme have yet to be revealed.

But there has been a warning that the programme must not merely displace investment form one area to another and has to genuinely encourage and promote new investment to create jobs.

When he announced the plans Mr Swinney said ministers worked with local enterprise agencies to choose specific sites to benefit from development in certain key growth industries.

However, he was warned the plan should not preclude somewhere like Glasgow from these key industries of the future.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce, said: "It is a cute answer from the Government to a problem of choosing which areas get status and which don't.

"With four to chose from, by putting it on a sectoral basis then more geographical locations can be included.

"For Glasgow it is good news that Pacific Quay is included, but there is a caveat: it depends on what the incentives are going to be.

"And we also do not have a sense yet if it will merely displace investment from somewhere else.

"The use of sectoral areas could pose a problem by trying to centre specific sectors on narrow geographical areas.

"It has to be ensured that all the investment on an area such as renewables is not focussed on the one area. The tendency of national strategy is to choose one area and say that is where that industry will be, and there is a consequence that all the national investment goes there.

"Glasgow and other cities should be able to draw on its assets to focus on a variety of sectors."

But Mr Swinney said: "We are taking this innovative sectoral approach because it will make better use of resources and target investment where it will be most effective."

MR SWINNEY added: "It will also allow us to build on the momentum Scotland has been generating in life sciences, renewables and the creative sector, as well as promote partnership working.

"Incentives available will depend on the characteristics of each site and these may include reduced business rates.

"We have agreed a planning protocol with the Convention Of Scottish Local Authorities that will encourage key parties, including developers, local authorities, the Scottish Government and agencies to work together in a streamlined planning process."

It is hoped the Enterprise Areas will be established and running by April.

Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, also welcomed the move but also wanted to know the full details of the incentives on offer.

He said: "The creative industries play a key role in the city's economy, so any investment is going to help.

"However, we would like more detail and it will be interesting to see what further information emerges on the specific incentives that are going to be offered."

Opposition MSPs were sceptical that the Enterprise Area would generate new investment and not merely move it from one area to another.

Ken Macintosh, Labour's finance spokesman, said: "All the evidence suggests Enterprise Zones simply displace businesses from elsewhere.

"This means other areas that also desperately need help lose out on jobs and investment.

"As Scotland's economy continues to grow more slowly and unemployment increases more quickly than the rest of the UK, we cannot afford to have a strategy that simply robs Peter to pay Paul."

Politicians and campaigners in Glasgow had called for parts of the city to be given Enterprise Area status after Mr Swinney revealed the plan in his Budget statement last year.

Calls for the north of the city and the East End were made in an effort to attract firms to areas with the highest unemployment.