West Sussex Small Business Grants - Funding Still Available

Funding for small businesses is still available in areas of West Sussex

Looking to develop website?
Need new office equipment?

• Does your business need to pay for training?
  

You can still apply for up to £2,000 to help develop or establish your business. 

Funding still available through the following areas:-

• Crawley Borough Council
• Adur & Worthing Borough Councils
• Mid Sussex District Council

The Business Navigator service has helped over 2,000 businesses since January 2016 and the team attend over 40 events last month alone.The team can research potential funding options, help you find a business mentor/adviser, help with recruitment, find support to help with website development, and much more.

For further information please call 0800 977 4146 for free and impartial guidance from the Navigator team.

‘FORGET THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE, GIVE US THE SOUTHERN ACCELERATOR’

The Greater Brighton Economic Board (GBEB) met on Tuesday April 25, 2017, to discuss a packed agenda focused on bringing more investment into the region, which extends from Worthing in the west across to Newhaven and up to East Grinstead. After overseeing his last meeting as GBEB Chairman, Councillor Daniel Humphreys, shares his personal reflection on the progress that’s being made

You've probably heard of the Northern Powerhouse. You may have heard of the Midlands Engine. But very soon I expect you will also know more about the Southern Accelerator.

This is the banner under which the Greater Brighton Economic Board hopes to drive growth throughout our areas.

The term has been universally supported within the Board’s response to the Government's Industrial Strategy.

The idea is simple - using our power as civic, education and business leaders to focus our energy to propel the region forward.

This was my last meeting as Chairman of the Board. In the last 12 months I have seen first-hand the impact that a joined-up approach can deliver.

From Worthing to Newhaven, Brighton up to East Grinstead, across the region we already have so many of the ingredients needed for an economy that delivers better outcomes for everyone.

We have a highly qualified workforce, we have the will from leaders, and we are very well connected.

What we need now is to put the foot on the accelerator to enable us to compete alongside the likes of London on a national and international stage.

The timing for jump-starting our economy has never been better. The regional economy is strong. Business growth rates are improving. Plus the government is willing to give the provinces more power and, more importantly, funding to deliver real change.

Investment in housing, transport and supporting further and higher education could make all the difference to the region as a whole, especially if we brand it under a single banner.

That's why I'm delighted to say that Whitehall officials are already showing an interest in the idea and are willing to visit to find out more to take the proposal forward.

It is yet another example of how Greater Brighton is making great strides in such a short space of time.

Recent months has seen the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership provide over £58 million towards infrastructure and regeneration in Greater Brighton.

This includes projects such as building office space at Adur Civic centre to keep 400 jobs in the area; transport and roads improvements in the Burgess Hill area; and funding towards delivering a new £99 million Life Sciences building at the University of Sussex’s Falmer campus.

In time these schemes, and others, will unlock hundreds of thousands of square metres of employment and housing space, creating jobs, homes and business space for those in our communities.

We are also seeing some major projects come to conclusion. Building work on the Construction Trades Centre at The GB Met further education college in east Brighton is now complete; while the tidal walls scheme at Shoreham and flood alleviation scheme at Newhaven are moving along quickly.

Greater Brighton is also getting bigger, Crawley Borough Council and Gatwick Airport Ltd will be invited to join the board.  With their co-operation we can strengthen the existing growth corridor from the coast up to the fringes of the capital.

It means we able to pull in more investment and focus on key infrastructure needs, such as increasing capacity on the Brighton mainline, which is the cause of so much misery to thousands of commuters in our area.

And finally, it would only be right to say a massive congratulations to Brighton and Hove Albion for their promotion to the Premier League.

The Seagulls, in some ways, represent everything that’s good about Greater Brighton - working together across traditional district boundaries to deliver places for our wider communities to thrive while showcasing all that is good on the national stage.

The Albion's reach extends to the Greater Brighton's boundary and beyond. The fantastic stadium complex at Falmer straddles parts of Brighton & Hove and Lewes; the state-of-the-art training ground is in Adur; not forgetting that fans flock from every corner of the county to watch Chris Hughton's team in action.

With the club now competing on the elite stage, it's a chance to put our region on the national and global map.

It will be a privilege to be part of the civic parade through Brighton and Hove on May 14 to celebrate with all the Seagulls fans.

Small Business Grant (and Apprenticeship Grant) Funding

Adur & Worthing Councils, in partnership with Adur and Worthing Business Partnership, are pleased to announce a new grant scheme for Small Business grants and Apprenticeship grants for micro and small businesses in the Adur and Worthing area.

Small Business Grants

The Small Business Grant is available to local micro businesses of up to 10 employees and the Councils are offering grants of up to £2,500 which you will need to match fund. For example, if you want to purchase some equipment that costs £1,500 you can apply for £750 from the grant fund and source the additional £750 needed from your own funds.

You must be able to demonstrate how the project will develop or establish your business and what difference it will make.

First - read the grant criteria information:

• Small Business Grants guidance notes

Then if you meet the criteria:

Apply for a Small Business Grant here

Apprenticeship Grants

The Apprenticeship Grant is available to small businesses of up to 50 employees and the Councils are offering grants of £1,500 to match funding currently available from the Government.

First - read the grant criteria information:

• Apprenticeship Grant guidance notes

Then if you meet the criteria: 

Apply for an Apprenticeship Grant here

About these grants

The scheme is being delivered by the Adur & Worthing Business Partnership and businesses will be on the Awards Panel, helping to decide which applications are successful.

If you would like to discuss either of the above grants please contact:

• Tina Barker 
  on 01273 263147 
  or email tina.barker@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Lancing Business Park Warden's Blog - February 2017

After a good couple of days walking around the park, popping into business's all over the park I have to say the overriding feeling is one of positivity. My first port of call was Shoreham Vehicle Auctions and they seem to be going from strength to strength. Had a nice chat with them and an insight into their ongoing success and the changes they're making to improve the day to day running of the company.

Walking down Spencer Road Lancing Commercials are as busy as ever and DMH Motors are just as busy too, the yard next door to them which is owned by Edburtons is full up and has a long waiting list for space as well.

Progress is also going well down at Winston Business Centre, now that the road has been done all of the units are occupied and I'm liaising with the managing agents to put funding in place for a new set of gates and security fencing to the entrance while the Lancing Business Park Committee have agreed to install cameras to monitor the site 24/7 and to say this has gone down well would be an understatement.

A business that has been a recent addition to the park is Healthy Supplies Ltd, they haven't been here to long but they've already outgrown the unit they're in so I've put them in contact with another company on the park that installs mezzanine floors so hopefully that will work out for all concerned and they are one of the friendliest business's to pop in to see, lovely bunch down there.

All in all I have to say the park is extremely busy and the feedback I get is nothing but positive, the parking situation has improved dramatically, although not perfect it's a lot better than it was and thanks to Mark Quarterly and his team the park is litter picked and road swept weekly sometimes daily if they can.

I would like to say thank you to everyone I see for all the tea's and coffee's, it is very nice to see so many friendly faces.

Mike – Lancing Business Park Warden

Lancing GP Team Event 

Teamsport Indoor Karting will host a Lancing Business Park race. This will be a team event consisting of about 3-4 drivers per team racing to represent your company and win your business free entry to the next Lancing Grand Prix! It really is fun on 4 wheels.

Date: Thursday 9th March Cost: £99 Per team    

15 minute Practice
10 minute Qualifier
90 Minute Race

Time:19:00 Arrival: 19:30 Race

The bar will be open through the night for drinks and hot and cold food.

Get involved and have a great night with us. Give us a call on 07854 228521 or email for more information.

£48.73million investment comes to the Greater Brighton City Region 

In a significant demonstration of the Chancellor’s commitment to the Greater Brighton City Region, £48.73million of Local Growth Fund Round 3 is to be invested in the City Region over the coming year, driving key projects forward.

These key projects are:

Worthing Central Phase 1 - the first phase of a comprehensive and co-ordinated transformation programme of Worthing’s Town Centre, stretching from Worthing Central Railway Station to the Seafront - £5.69million

Decoy Farm, Worthing - transforming the site – which has stood unused for over three decades – into one of the most exciting commercial employment centres on the South Coast, providing openings for existing businesses to expand and attracting wider enterprise and investment from the South East and London - £4.84million

New Monks Farm & Airport - establishing the essential road infrastructure needed to unblock the development of both New Monks Farm and the Airport Business Estate into a strategic employment and housing growth centre - £5.7million

Burgess Hill Growth Area Infrastructure Package - putting in place a package of local infrastructure improvements – including road enhancements, public transport improvements, walking and cycling initiatives, access to the proposed Science Park among others – that will support the delivery of the £1b Burgess Hill growth programme - £14.9million

Sussex Bio-Innovation Centre, Brighton - delivering a new £99m Life Sciences building at the University of Sussex’s Falmer campus. This building will provide dedicated teaching space, modern laboratory equipment, technical support and inspiring collaboration spaces for academics, researchers and clinicians from different disciplines to share knowledge and create innovative partnerships - £5.5million

Brighton Waterfront, Black Rock Site Development, Brighton – delivering a new world class conference and multi-use venue at the Black Rock Site, alongside a major expansion of the city’s retail offer through an extension of Churchill Square shopping centre - £12.1million

Councillor Daniel Humphreys, Chairman of the Greater Brighton Economic Board and Leader of Worthing Borough Council, said:

“I am delighted to see this significant commitment to future growth across our Region.

“At this point, we estimate that the six projects will attract over £700million of private sector investment into the Region. In practical terms, this will mean nearly 280,000 square metres of employment floor space for approximately 6,600 new jobs and over 5,900 homes to house our growing population.

“This is great news for the City Region and a vote of confidence in the creative, innovative, agenda set by the Greater Brighton Economic Board.”

The funds are being administered by the Government by Coast To Capital, the Local Economic Partnership covering the City Region. The Greater Brighton Economic Board is now working closely with Coast To Capital on a phased release of funds into these transformative projects.

Further information will be released as soon as it is available and full details for each of the sites is contained in the 2015-16 Greater Brighton Economic Board Annual Report.

Public property valued at over £2billion is set to be unlocked in the next five  years throughout the Greater Brighton City Region, creating the potential for over 1,300 new jobs and over 1,200 new homes in the Region over the next 10 years. 

The investment laying the groundwork to make this a reality comes from the Government’s One Public Estate programme - an innovation in encouraging collaboration with a place-based focus between land owning public sector bodies. Investment of £280,500 will be made into the Region in the 2016/17 financial year, with a further £316,500 due to be invested in 2017/18.

Eight key sites will now be driven forward:

Springman House, Lewes: bringing together the key blue-light services into a single location, thereby unlocking the regeneration of the North Street Quarter to deliver new homes, employment floorspace, subsidised workspace for the creative industries, a new healthcare centre, an underground car park, completion of the flood defences for Lewes and a range of public realm improvements

Worthing Civic Centre: a mixed use development incorporating a new, integrated multi-disciplinary primary and community care hub in the heart of Worthing, transforming the delivery of non-acute health care in the town

Brighton General Hospital: redevelopment of the site to include a new health and care campus, new housing and a range of community uses

Dyke Road Barracks, Brighton: potential redevelopment of the site to deliver a smaller territorial army barracks alongside mixed use development (pending MoD approval at the time of writing)

Moulsecoomb Neighbourhood Hub, Brighton: the consolidation of siloed services into a new community hub, releasing some sites for affordable housing and student accommodation.

Madeira Terrace, Brighton: reconstruction of the Terrace, including the introduction of innovative commercial and leisure uses

Preston Barracks, Brighton: development of a primary and community healthcare hub, allowing for the release and disposal of existing assets

Preston Circus Fire Station: optimising the layout to meet its operational uses and identifying alternative uses for the remaining areas

In the One Public Estate programme, land owning public bodies - such as local authorities, healthcare and emergency services - are being encouraged to use their property as a catalyst for economic growth and transforming public service delivery.

The intention is that they will achieve this through identifying surplus assets which could be made available for housing and local regeneration, co-locating their services to make better use of space and drive service improvements, and actively seeking out opportunities for joint working to improve customer experience.

In the process, each agency and authority will generate capital receipts from the sale of their identified land and property assets, creating income streams to invest directly into their communities.

Daniel Humphreys, Chairman of the Greater Brighton Economic Board and Leader of Worthing Borough Council, comments:

“I am very pleased to see our case for investment has been backed by the Government. In thinking innovatively about land and property, and by working in true partnership, we are looking at building new homes, new workspaces and community facilities, stimulating our City Region economy and supporting our growing population.

“Now that we have had the green light, the Economic Board has established a Strategic Property Board which is determined to ensure that we demonstrate our absolute commitment to following this programme through and transforming our Region.

“As Leader of Worthing Borough Council, I am delighted to see the vote of confidence in our plan to create a Civic Healthcare Hub in the heart of the town, a move which will provide new opportunities for accommodation, positively and permanently transforming the health, wellbeing and housing opportunities in the heart of Worthing.”

Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, adds:

“This announcement is good news for Brighton and Hove, and for the wider City Region. We are demonstrating that we can think creatively and innovatively about the future of our places and public services, and how we drive economic growth that benefits everyone.

“The six sites identified in the City offer us a chance to overcome some of the obstacles we face and think differently about our plans to boost housing, employment and public services in the city.”

Councillor Andy Smith, Leader of Lewes District Council, adds:

“The investment into the Springman House site will help us to deliver our regeneration ambitions for the District, alongside our emergency service partners who are also keen to make the most of this opportunity.

“The regeneration of the North Street Quarter is key not only to delivering homes and employment space, but also to completing flood defences for the town and creating a wide range of public space improvements.”

The One Public Estate investment will fund a range of activities including programme and project management across the eight identified sites, feasibility studies and public consultations.

By 31st December, maps of all publicly owned land, together with an estimate of the value of each piece, will be published online. Further information, including details for where to find this land value information, will be made available in the next few weeks.

This week Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner launched a public consultation on our new Police & Crime Plan.

As PCC, I have a statutory duty to set the policing and crime objectives for Sussex through this Plan and in June I set up a Police & Crime Plan Reference Group to help me develop it.

The Reference Group comprises of representative members from community safety and criminal justice partners as well as Sussex Police.

Their work helps me to shape and develop community safety priorities which reflect accurately the expectations of the public.

The four policing and crime objectives for our new Plan are to:

• - Strengthen local policing
  
•  - Work with local communities and partners to keep Sussex safe
  
• Protect our vulnerable and help victims cope and recover from crime and abuse
  
• - Improve access to justice for victims and witnesses
  
• As the voice for local people on policing and crime, I am seeking your views as a Sussex resident on the new objectives and would encourage you to complete the public consultation which runs until the end of November. Have your say here.
  

The draft Plan will be presented to the Sussex Police & Crime Panel at our meeting on 20 January 2017 for them to formally review. It will then be launched by the end of March 2017.

You can watch a short animated video which explains how previous plans have been developed by clicking here.

I am pleased to announce that this week the award winning Sussex Restorative Justice Partnership enlarged its pool of Restorative Justice (RJ) facilitators with 15 newly trained volunteers.

The intensive three-day training course at HMP Lewes was delivered by accredited trainers from the Restorative Justice Council.

This new cohort of RJ facilitators are very welcome to the partnership and will increase its capacity and capability to deliver services for victims of crime by working alongside existing staff from the three RJ hubs already established across Sussex.