Search on for area with most enterprise
Mar 8 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal
THE search for the North East's most enterprising place has begun once again.
Last year, Wansbeck was named the most entrepreneurial part of the region in the Enterprising Britain 2010 competition.
And now the hunt has begun to highlight and reward those cities, villages, towns and neighbourhoods that have tackled the economic downturn head on and are successfully creating jobs, boosting local business and nurturing entrepreneurial talent.
Lord Davies, Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Business, said: “Entrepreneurship was crucial to moving the economy back into growth and our future prosperity also rests on encouraging talented Britons to develop their ideas.
“Enterprising Britain is a great opportunity to showcase communities who have come together to build better futures and inspire others to follow their example.”
Wansbeck was named the North East’s most enterprising place in the initial stage of the competition in 2009, despite a view in some quarters that it was not the strongest candidate.
Go Wansbeck – the Government- backed initiative set up to create a more enterprising culture in the area – faced a big task in bolstering the self confidence of the area to encourage local people to start up their own business.
It launched a range of innovative schemes to tackle these issues which, together, had outstanding success in the area, which includes Ashington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Bedlington.
It not only dramatically improved the way residents felt about the area but helped bring more than £820,000 in grants and loans for 155 Wansbeck residents to start up new businesses and deliver more than £600,000 to 54 existing businesses.
Martin Townshend, programme manager at Go Wansbeck, said: “Winning the title of the North East’s most enterprising place in 2009 really helped to raise the profile of Wansbeck and of all the partners working hard to regenerate the area.
“The competition has built on the achievements of Go Wansbeck by encouraging local people to get involved in enterprise, make their ideas happen and enthuse the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
Tim Pain, head of Business, Enterprise and Skills at One North East, said: “Entering the Enterprising Britain competition is not only the North East’s chance to shout about what we’ve achieved, but also to help other organisations and communities to learn from our successes.”
:: To register interest, email your contact details to enterprisingbritain@enterpriseuk.org. Entries must be submitted by May 31, 2010 and the winner will be announced in October.
