The Furness Enterprise Partnership, is pioneering use of the new Coastal Communities Fund grant scheme, made available through Big Lottery and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)to deliver a flexible, holistic programme called: "Unleashing Growth in Coastal Furness." You can download a gude to what the progamme covers here.
Unleashing Growth in Coastal Furness - 2013 , a guide to our business support programme Download now PDF
The Unleahing growth in coastal Furnessprogramme has five elements:
- Taking the Plunge - helping more people to start up in business as new entrepreneurs;
- Employer-Employment Partnerships - improving access to jobs for those out of work, the unemployed, people leaving the armed services, returners to work,individuals wishing to take up high skilled jobs in Furness and find jobs for partners in their families>It also helps young graduates coming into or working in Furness companiesto network with each other;
- Coastal Discovery Marketing -attracting new investment and reinvestment tocoastal business parks and premises situated in Furness;
- Supply Chain Strengthening -through new and existing supplier forums which concentrate on helping companies to enter or cement their position in supply chains of larger companies and on improving productivity and cost reduction.The initial focus is on defence systems integration,life sciences and energy sectors;
- Innovation Networks - to help companies collaborate in developing new products and services and link up with research expertise where needed.
The whole programme aims to enable companies to create 275 new jobs and 82.5 new indirect jobs by March 2015.
These jobs must be located in all of the Barrow in Furness Borough Council's wards, or the east, central and south wards of Ulverston, all of which contain "people most in need."
Much of the scheme's focus is on helping realise opportunities for individuals and companies within the geographic "wards of opportunity" which also happen to include significant numbers of multinational or local businesses and people seeking new work and careers.
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Coastal Communities Fund: Some Priority Wards that are Areas of Opportunity containing "people most in need" |
CoastalBusiness Parks - Areas of Opportunity in the more deprived wards of Coastal Furness |
| Ormsgill, Barrow |
Park Road*, Sandscale Park*, Sowerby Woods |
| Hindpool, Barrow |
Furness Business Park, Town Centre of Barrow |
| Central Barrow |
Town Centre of Barrow and its key vacant buildings |
| Barrow Island |
The Waterfront Business Park*, BAE SYSTEMS Maritime, port of Barrow estate of ABP plc |
| Walney North |
Walney Airport |
| Risedale |
Barrow town centre, Strand, Marina Village |
| Ulverston (east, central and south wards) |
Parts of the town centre, North Lonsdale Road,Canal Head, GlaxoSmithKline, Oxley industrial areas |
Note * new site under development
The programme's individualservices are delivered throughout the coastal area:
- face to face at company premises;
- from our Lindal HQ;
- at pheonix Business Centre on Furness Business Park in Barrow in Furness;
- through events, including Jobs Fairsor Masterclasses;
- within the centre of Barrow in Furness at Dalton Roadfrom a "drop in centre" available for use by those people seeking jobs.
There is close working with Furness College and the University of Cumbria campus situated on Furness Business Park, Jobcentreplus, community and multicultural organisations such as Barrow and District Disability Association to help deliver the programme.
The Employer-Employment Partnership service, offering access to jobsalso encourages unemployed people to think about self employment. It is delivered from a drop-in centre located in Dalton Road, Barrow in Furness, the main town centre shopping street. Here individuals can receive advice and guidance, help in drafting CV's, support to search for jobs on line complete applications and receive information on how to embark on setting up a business or apply for discretionary grants to improve their skills,where this may lead to a job.
DCLG's website in November 2012 highlights Barrow's position as a pioneer of the fund, in the following statement:
The Coastal Communities Fund
The Coastal Communities Fund is funded by the government from income from the Crown Estates marine assets. Funding is available in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Fund will be managed by the Big Lottery Funds BIG Fund.
We expect there will be at least 2 more annual bidding rounds, starting in 2013 and 2014.
We have encouraged a range of organisations to apply for a share of the funding. Successful applicants can expect to get a grant of between 50,000 and 2 million.
Organisations that bid for funding will be encouraged (but not required) to match funds with other sources of money.
We announced the first group of successful bidders in August 2012:
- Barrow in Furness: 900,000 to support an initiative which aims to create 275 full-time and more than 85 part-time jobs
- Bournemouth Borough Council: 2 million over 2 years to create Europes first National Coastal Tourism Academy
- National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, Cornwall: 150,500 to provide 4 new jobs and 15 training and volunteering opportunities
- RAK Maritime Project in East Anglia: 757,000 to provide maritime training to 63 young people a year for 2 years to support the renewable energy industry in East Anglia
- South East Food Group Partnership: 25,000 to create 15 full-time sales posts for fishermen or family members
- Suffolk County Council: 762,000 to create 200 new employer-led apprenticeships to develop skills in the low-carbon energy sector in coastal communities in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex
Thomasina McNaughton,tel: 01229 820611, Email: tmcnaughton@furnessenterprise.co.ukmanages the Employer-Employment Partnership (Job Access) scheme.
Val Robinson, tel: 01229 820611,Email:vrobinson@furnessenterprise.co.ukmanages the new start entrepreneurial business scheme called "Taking thePlunge" new start scheme
Stuart Klosinski,tel 01229 820611 Email: sklosinski@furnessenterprise.co.uk manages the overall "Unleashing Growth in Coastal Furness" Programme
They are based at Furness Enterprise Limited. Wax-Lyrical,Lindal Business Park,London Road, Lindal in Furness LA12 0LD.
