The £750 million fund is intended to stimulate innovation and job creation with a focus on regionally important interests such as advanced manufacturing, digital industries and biotechnology.

"These are three areas that we absolutely excel at in Sheffield, so it's very good news," said Helen Rana, policy manager at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.

Click on the green play button to hear Helen Rana's response to this year's budget

"The details haven't yet been announced, but we'll be doing everything we can to get as much as we can of that money."

Chancellor Alistair Darling also got a pat on the back for announcing that VAT will stay at 15% until December, and an extra £1.7billion will be spent on getting people back into work.

"All long-term unemployed under 25 will be offered a place in either training or work from next year. We've got quite low skills in this area, so this will help," said Ms Rana.

Sheffield's motor industry was jubilant over moves to kickstart new car sales with a 'cash for bangers' scrappage scheme.

The deal - a £2,000 cash incentive for anyone trading in a pre-1999 vehicle for a new model - is seen as a practical way of boosting new car sales.

"This is fantastic news - it will definitely boost new car sales, jobs and the profitability of our business," said Stuart Pearce, marketing manager for local dealership Gordon Lamb.

"The industry certainly needs it - new car sales are down by 50% this year on last. It is starting from next month so the impact should be seen quickly."

Matthew Warburton, of city-centre BMW dealer Sytner, said that although the moves were aimed at a lower market sec tor, the entire motor industry would benefit.

"Anything that gets people even thinking about buying a new car is good for everybody, and is a bonus for customers," he said.

But, as ever, there were losers as well as winners. The beleaguered drinks industry - already upset when alcohol was exempted from last autumn's VAT cut - suffered a further blow with news that a 2% rise in alcohol duty would be implemented from today.

Nigel Williams, local spokesman for the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, said the rise could sound the death knell for some pubs, particularly in less affluent areas.

"In certain pubs it will mean another five pence on the price of a pint - and for some people that will be the last straw," he said.

"I think it will have a drastic effect on a small number of pubs, and there's nothing in the Budget that has helped our trade."

The duty increase is also likely to drive a further wedge between pubs and supermarkets.

"Pubs have taken a lot of the blame for the binge drinking culture and only recently has some of that blame shifted on to the shoulders of the supermarkets... to be honest, very few people can afford to binge drink in a pub these days."

READ MORE: £100 million digital boost for region

Garry Meakin, Grant Thornton Sheffield Office Managing Partner, said: "The Chancellor's view of 1.25% growth in 2010 is wildly optimistic and out of line with the consensus. Predicting such a quick bounce back allows him to conveniently put back sorting out the public borrowing and debt until after the next election.

"The level of borrowing is expected to soar to £175 billion next year, a staggering 12% of GDP, and to £173 billion in 2010/11. The Chancellor no longer seems to have any influence on the path to recovery and has lost control in managing the public finances.

"The potential for even higher levels of borrowing to be reached is huge. If the economy does not bounce back as expected, borrowing could easily rise to £185 billion next year, if further tax increases and spending cuts are not forthcoming."

"By 2013-14 public sector debt will hit nearly £1.4 trillion, the equivalent of a staggering £50,000 per household, some £30,000 higher than in 2006-7. This debt may take a generation to repay.''

Philippa Sanderson, senior tax manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in South Yorkshire said: "The Chancellor has announced a number of tax and incentive measures which are designed to stimulate the economy.

"While we welcome this, we had hoped he would go further and don't believe this is a Budget for enterprise. In addition, where economic growth will depend on businesses investing in South Yorkshire, we are concerned that increases in income taxes will make the UK a less attractive location in which to base entrepreneurial business."

Andrew Halstead, head of Atisreal's Sheffield office, said:

"The Chancellor has pretty well spurned the property industry today. The continuation of the stamp duty relief is a small sop to people when passing the test for a mortgage remains hard. Letting empty rates eat away at cash flow when property companies need every penny in order to get refinancing from the banks and stop them foreclosing. It also stores up problems for the future, with speculative development non-existence and empty stock being de-commissioned; when the pick-up begins we are going to see an entirely unnecessary inflationary boom in rents.''

Steven Turton, director of Sheffield rating at Atisreal, said: "The empty rates legislation will continue to be a burden to an already suffering property industry. The Government is effectively continuing with a 'crisis tax' which is being inflicted on those that are being crippled by the economic crisis - property owners, small family run businesses, and those that have effectively placed their pension into properties are all penalised. The legislation serves no purpose other than to provide the Government with revenue following their blunders and the amount they are collecting is dubious as many seek to demolish their properties rather than pay"

Guy Gilfillan, head of national commercial property consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton's (LSH) Sheffield office, said: "While further measures maybe contained within the full Budget Statement, the main impact of the Budget announcement in relation to the commercial property market is somewhat indirect.

"However, of particular interest to South Yorkshire was the emphasis by the Chancellor on the importance of industry and, in particular the advanced manufacturing, digital, media and green technology sectors.

"This presents a major opportunity for South Yorkshire, which is already home to world-leading businesses in some of these sectors, providing a solid platform for capitalising on a share of the £750m investment fund for emerging technologies proposed by the Chancellor.

"An early response from the RDA, in terms of how this money will be distributed and through which elements of the Public Sector, is necessary to allow businesses to gear-up around this potential investment and to multiply the growth in jobs in this sector based upon the private sector multiplier effect.

"The Chancellor also outlined investment in the energy and renewable sectors. With companies such as Forgemasters and Davy Markham based in South Yorkshire, which are already major suppliers into the nuclear, wind energy and oil/gas markets, the region is again well-placed to exploit the benefits in order to drive national leadership in these sectors.

"The Chancellor's failure to recognise the plight of many businesses by not proposing any measures in respect of the Government's beleaguered empty property rates (EPR) legislation was disappointing.

"Particularly in light of the findings contained within a survey published by LSH and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which highlighted that the EPR legislation has resigned England and Wales to a continued boom bust commercial property cycle; delivering property shortage and stifling regeneration and investment.

"However, although bitterly disappointing, this will hopefully be offset to some extent by increased capital allowances for business on certain types of capital investment.''

Ian Baxter, Managing Director of RH Freight, an independent privately owned business, said: "With over 650 staff operating out of 19 locations including Sheffield, says the Chancellor's decision to increase fuel duty by 2p per litre in September, and then by 1p a litre above the rate of inflation each April until 2013, is yet another blow to a transport industry still reeling from the increases enforced at the beginning of this month.

"Each 2 pence rise in fuel duty costs us around an additional £100,000 per year in fuel costs, which we have to absorb or pass on. Passing on these costs ultimately impacts on the consumer as rising transport costs result in higher prices on the shop shelves.

"The services that we provide are an essential part of the British economy but increases like this squeeze our margins further and could have a devastating impact on the smaller haulage operators.

"Once again the Government insists on imposing additional penalties on our industry in already difficult circumstances."

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