An award-winning project led by North Tyneside Council is set to help even more businesses to grow and thrive.
At a meeting of North Tyneside Council’s Cabinet last night (July 30), members welcomed news of a funding bid to extend the successful Business Factory project.
Established in 2009, the Business Factory encourages new business start-up and growth in North Tyneside. Support is provided by a dedicated team of advisers and specialists.
The council has recently applied for a grant of £825,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which will be boosted by council funding, to extend the project to 2021.
Speaking about the news, Deputy Mayor, Cllr Bruce Pickard said: “The Business Factory has been hugely successful and we’re incredibly proud of the support we have given local people and businesses. We were delighted when this invaluable work was recognised with a national award late last year.
“Since the project started over eight years ago, the number of people self-employed in the borough has risen dramatically – from 5,800 to 13,200 – which is significantly above the regional average.
“With this funding, we’ll be able to help even more self-employed people and start-up businesses to grow and prosper.”
The extended project will continue to deliver a comprehensive package of business start-up and business growth services which includes pre-start support, social enterprises, business planning, innovation and specialist consultancy. The support will be delivered via one-to-one advice, workshops and online support with a greater focus on self-service.
The council will hear if its ERDF funding bid has been successful by the end of 2018 and cabinet members voted unanimously at the meeting tonight to accept the funding.
The Business Factory is based at the North Tyneside Business Centre in North Shields. To contact the team, email info@businessfactorynt.co.uk or call (0191) 605 3110.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The Business Factory was awarded the Enterprising Britain Award in September 2017 from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for the best enterprise support programme in Great Britain.
The funding from the ERDF is part of its Raising Enterprise Initiative.
