Falkirk named most enterprising place in Scotland
Falkirk has been crowned the most enterprising place in Scotland, beating stiff competition from across the country in the Scottish heat of the UK’s Enterprising Britain competition.
Now in its sixth year, the UK-wide competition, run by Enterprise UK with Scottish Enterprise in Scotland, rewards 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 as the UK emerges from recession.
Falkirk was recognised for its success with My Future’s in Falkirk, a 10-year initiative originally created to tackle job losses in the petrochemical industry. It initiated a series of projects impacting on the area’s economy and promoting Falkirk to the wider business community. New developments have been created including the regeneration of the town centres with the creation of the Falkirk BID and £20 million of regeneration funds, a 30 acre business park on land reclaimed from the petrochemical industry and a new 33 acre business park on the former Alcan site. Innovative partnerships have also been formed, such as that between INEOS and Forth Valley College to create Modern Apprenticeships, and between businesses and support agencies to develop a skilled workforce and create employment.
Brian McVey, Director of Operational Management at Scottish Enterprise and one of the judges for the competition, said:
“The success of My Future’s in Falkirk demonstrates what can be achieved if people and organisations work together to improve the social and economic prospects of their community. We are confident that their great example will encourage other communities to do more to support the development of entrepreneurship, which will be critical in responding to the economic challenges we face in future.”
During August, Falkirk Council will go up against the other eleven regional finalists from around the UK for the Enterprising Britain 2010 national title. The overall winner will then go on to represent the UK at the European Enterprise Awards in 2011.
Adrian Mahoney, Convenor of Economic Development, Falkirk Council said:
“Falkirk winning the Enterprising Britain competition for Scotland is a fantastic achievement and we are delighted to have been recognised for our work in bringing change to the area, creating jobs and transforming the community. Our initiative doesn’t stop here though - we will continue to champion enterprise and look forward to the UK finals of the competition.”
Douglas Duff, Head of Economic Development, Falkirk Council added:
“My Future’s in Falkirk is a partnership initiative involving the local Business Panel, Council and other agencies in the area’s economic future. The initiative’s success has come about through our close working relations, drive and enthusiasm for enterprise.”
Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, who attended the event to announce the winner, commented:
“This is a deserved tribute to the work underway in Falkirk to bring the community together and stimulate economic growth across the area. There is no doubt that in Scotland we have faced tough times through the recent recession.
“But by combining our talents and working together we can ensure the recovery that is now underway really takes hold and gathers pace. That is exactly what is happening in Falkirk, as this award demonstrates, and I hope it is an example that will be followed across the country.”
Enterprise North East Trust also received recognition at the Scottish heat of the competition in the shape of the runner-up prize for its work as a catalyst for economic growth. It has helped tens of thousands of new business start-ups, trained thousands of budding entrepreneurs in the skills needed to start and survive in business and supported hundreds of existing businesses to survive, change and grow.
Glasgow West Regeneration Agency won 2009’s Scottish heat of the Enterprising Britain competition for driving the economic regeneration of the city by working in partnership to create, enhance and deliver opportunities for Glaswegians, their communities and the city’s enterprises.
For more information about the 2010 Enterprising Britain competition go to www.enterpriseuk.org/enterprisingbritain
Case studies of all previous Enterprising Britain regional winners are available to view on www.enterpriseuk.org/get_involved/enterprising_britain/map
The other finalists for the Scottish heat of Enterprising Britain 2010 were:
Borders College
Borders College formed a partnership with Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design to undertake a £27 million refurbishment of the campus at Galashiels. Funded from a variety of sources, including ERDF, the Scottish Funding Council and the partner institutions, the campus provides a hub for further and higher education in the Scottish Borders and acts as a focal point for businesses in the area. The knowledge transfer hub, South of Scotland Business Solutions, is based at the campus and sees both the college and university working with businesses. The plan is to develop a link with as many SMEs as possible, providing a network of support opportunities to drive enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation.
City of Edinburgh Council
In 2009 the Council launched a Young Enterprise Project to provide young people with the support and skills needed to get a business off the ground. It targets young people from the city’s most disadvantaged communities who are not in employment or higher education and teaches them to create their own job opportunities. Local employers contribute through The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust and act as mentors to help young people establish their business, as well as providing aftercare. The project has run awareness-raising sessions, contributed to access-to-work programmes and promoted the help available through articles in publications, e-bulletins, word of mouth and involvement in community events. Since starting up, the project has worked with almost 300 young people, created 138 business start-ups and contributed £300,000 to the local economy.
Enterprising Bathgate
Enterprising Bathgate was set up with a five-year business plan after extensive consultation to identify priorities for the town. As part of that the Premises Improvement Scheme was set up to offer grants to existing businesses and also introduces additional incentives to new businesses locating in the town. A total of 93 grants amounting to £54,000 have been awarded so far. There has also been a successful joint application to the Town Centre Regeneration Fund for streetscape improvements such as a new library, community centre, civic centre in the heart of the town centre, a new swimming pool, and new retail developments opening at the start of next year. Overall, 32 new businesses have been opened in the town centre in the past 12 months and shop vacancies are less than half the national average.
Interactive Tayside
Interactive Tayside was launched in 2000 as a partnership approach where the public sector support agencies work with academic establishments with, for and on behalf of, the digital media businesses in the area. The steering group decided something was needed across the region to celebrate and pull together its wealth of creative talent, and so the Dundee-based NEoN Digital Arts festival was born. The festival brings the wider community together in an attempt to demonstrate the thriving digital arts and media sector. NEoN is particularly interested in addressing the retention of young people in Dundee and targeting recent graduates, young unemployed and long term unemployed. This year the festival is offering over twenty placements to higher and further education students and will help realise projects or fringe events proposed from the local community.
RCDAC Group
RCDAC is aiming to change people’s understanding of construction, construction design and the possibilities it presents. It is teaching people that it’s possible to construct properties for less money, allowing the freedom to build, for example, a cinema for the community, to benefit children and families. The organisation plans to create approximately 250 jobs around Scotland and to show that we can choose how to live, and to show students and young people the possibilities.
Stirling Business Panel
The Business Panel aims to represent all Stirling businesses in engaging with partners and presenting a voice for all businesses, regardless of size, industry or location in the area. It liaises with the local authority and other partners to articulate the views of the local business community. Its ultimate aim is to create a local partnership which allows businesses to start, grow and flourish. This will help to protect existing employment and create job opportunities as well as allowing the business community to play its part in achieving the aims of the Stirling Economic Strategy, ‘Open for Business’.
About Enterprising Britain
- Enterprising Britain is a nationwide competition that celebrates and recognises enterprise achievement throughout all the regions of the UK. For more information please visit www.enterpriseuk.org/enterprisingbritain
- Enterprising Britain is open to all organisations in the UK that are working in partnership to create an enterprising place. The place can be a town, a city, a parish or a neighbourhood and organisations must demonstrate that enterprise is central to the economic and/or social transformation of the place
- The competition runs nationally across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland and operates in two stages: a regional nomination stage and a national competition between the regional finalists
- Six of the 12 regional finalists will pitch to a judging panel and the top three will be visited by the judging panel in September
- Previous national winners have included:
2009 NWES Lowestoft
2008 Scarborough Renaissance Partnership
2007 North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone
2006 West Kilbride Craft & Design Town
2005 Sherwood Energy Village, Ollerton