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With so much help and support out there, we wanted to take a detailed look into some of the long standing, business support networks that have always been there to help, now and always.
This week we are looking at Cumbria Business Growth Hub -
Growth Hubs were set up as a localised approach to address the issues and barriers to growth seen in the different regions of England and are a great place to start when it comes to specialist business advice, no matter what stage of the process you are at or what sector you are in. Best of all, a huge range of their activities are free or subsidised.
Set up by Cumbria Chamber of Commerce in 2012, the Cumbria Business Growth Hub is considered the one-stop-shop for business support, bringing together a huge wealth of information into one place. Their online support ranges from reviews and diagnostics, action plans, 1-2-1 advice, networking, workshops, events and links to other business support initiatives - with the main focus being to support and grow the Cumbrian business community.
To date, the Growth Hub has worked directly with more than 6,800 businesses, around 2,000 benefiting from intensive assistance. This has created or safeguarded 6,285 jobs and generated an estimated £280 million GVA.
No matter the query, the Growth Hub will be able to offer advice, or point you in the direction of someone who can. Here are just some of the areas of advice they can offer:
- General business advice
- Marketing
- Digital marketing
- ICT
- Funding and applications
- Finance
- Business planning
- Sales & pricing
- Supply chain activity
- People and productivity through people
They also have advisers who specialise in food & drink, manufacturing, funding applications, bids and tenders, leadership, visitor economy/hospitality/tourism and social enterprises.
To get in touch, please call 0844 257 8450 or email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk
For more information, check out their website: https://cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk/
The Growth Hub works closely with all of Cumbria's district councils and will ensure that once your business is ready to get off the ground, any statutory or regulatory queries are passed on to us directly.
If you haven't already, please do check out our dedicated grants page on our website to see if you are eligible for any of the business grants currently being offered.
In particular, the wet-led pubs grant is still available to apply for but will be closing on the Sunday 28th February. The Christmas Support payment is a single one-off payment of £1,000 for wet-led pubs and we still have money to allocate to pubs that meet the criteria so don't hesitate to have a look and get in touch. We cannot accept any applications after this deadline.
For more information on this and all other grants, please visit our website.
With funding from Allerdale council, new support is available to businesses in the Allerdale area through Cumbria Chamber of Commerce & Cumbria Business Growth Hub.
Allerdale businesses can choose from the two support packages:
- The first is free Cumbria Chamber of Commerce membership for businesses with up to 10 employees for one year, subsidised for companies with over 10 employees. This gives access to free 1-2-1 professional legal, HR and tax advice from dedicated professionals.
- Alternatively, businesses can opt for a choice of sector specific online workshops on a range of topics such as implementing forward strategies to survive, customer service challenges and opportunities and social media and online for your business. 1-2-1 advice will also be given to help businesses implement actions identified in the workshops.
The Chamber and Growth Hub will also link organisations with any other support available in line with their needs and interests.
The support is primarily for businesses in the visitor economy, retail and personal service areas as these have been identified as the worst hit sectors over the longest period by the Covid pandemic.
To access support, businesses can email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk specifying which support option they’re interested in.
For more information visit the Growth Hub website or the Chamber website
The University of Cumbria have created a new business society with the aim of connecting soon-to-be graduates with business leaders and organisations.
Run by students, for students, the new group want to develop a vibrant relationship with business leaders, helping to shape students’ learning experience and offering real-world support and guidance alongside their academic business management study.
The group will be hosting an inaugural event taking place on Thursday 25 February at 4pm where Cumbrian businesswoman Emma Porter, Construction Managing Director at Story Contracting, will be the guest speaker.
The business society will be an important link between students and local businesses and organisations and employers are encouraged to get involved.
If you would like to connect please the group on bussoc@cumbria.ac.uk or erica.lewis@cumbria.ac.uk.
University of Cumbria students and alumni who want to find out more about the new society and its forthcoming events are invited to join the UoC Business Society Facebook group or follow @SocietyUoc on Twitter.
Cumbria County Council announced last week (Friday 19th Feb) that several community testing sites are now available to the public, for those who are unable to work from home and those who are in greater community contact as part of their job.
Complete with strict and safe COVID-19 precautions in place, five test sites are now up and running in Carlisle, Aspatria, Kendal, Penrith and Millom, with more to follow soon. Opening times are as follows:
Carlisle: Trinity School Sports Hall, Strand Rd, Carlisle CA1 1JB
• Saturdays: 09:15 – 12:30
• Wednesdays: 17:15 – 19:30
Aspatria: Beacon Hill School, Market Square, Aspatria, Wigton CA7 3EZ
• Saturdays: 09:15 – 12:30
Kendal: Queen Katherine School, Appleby Rd, Kendal LA9 6PJ
• Thursdays: 17:45 – 19:30
• Saturdays: 09:15 – 12:30
Penrith: Ullswater Community College, Wetheriggs Lane, Penrith, CA11 8NG
• Saturdays: 09:15 – 12:30
• Wednesdays: 17:15 – 19:30
Millom: Millom School, Salthouse Road, Millom, LA18 5AB
• Saturdays: 09:15 – 12:30
• Wednesdays: 17:30 – 19:30
These tests are to detect the virus, not to ease lockdown restrictions at this stage and we encourage everyone to stay local and not travel excessively to testing sites far away from your homes.
On Wednesday 17th, Cumbria Tourism met with the county’s five Conservative MPs to discuss the state of the tourism and hospitality sector and consider ways to work together to support its recovery and build back better.
The joint meeting with CT Chair, Jim Walker, Vice Chair, Dan Visser, MD Gill Haigh was coordinated by MP for Carlisle John Stevenson, and also attended by Copeland MP Trudy Harrison, Workington MP Mark Jenkinson, Penrith and the Border MP Neil Hudson as well as Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell.
During the meeting Cumbria Tourism repeated its calls to government for 5 key asks to allow the sector to bounce back, these included:
- A clear roadmap for reopening - this has happened this afternoon (22nd Feb)
- Continuation of the 5% VAT rate, bringing us in line with many of our European competitors
- An extension of the Business Rates holiday
- Confirmation that furlough will continue after April, on a phased out basis, to allow businesses to begin to get back on their feet
- Support for Cumbria Tourism, as Destination Management Organisation, to continue to work on behalf of the sector and promote the whole county as a great place to stay all year round.
We will of course feedback on any updates CT gain from their meetings and continued lobbying.
We have two new procurement opportunities at the council which we would love some of our local businesses to apply for! Please see the info and link below to see if the opportunities are revelant to you:
- We are seeking quotations for a Cultural Mapping exercise of Maryport. To scope and evaluate Maryport’s cultural activity and produce a report derived from a background understanding of Maryport’s socio-economic and cultural history, a wider understanding of the cultural sector, from on the ground research, and taking account of potential funding opportunities, which sets out the strategic context - national, regional and local. The contract is for approximately 3 months. To apply, please click here.
Expression of interest window 16/02/2021 to 26/02/2021 11:00 and all further details are available upon registration of your interest to this invitation.
- We are also seeking quotations for an animated advert that can be used on social media in line with the specification detailed in our Request for Quote document. The contract is for approximately 2 months. The intended commencement date is 08th March 2021. If you are interested in applying, please click here.
Further details are available upon registration of your interest to this invitation.
All further correspondence about this project must be directed through the notification link on The Chest.
Cockermouth will turn yellow this April as it plans to decorate the town with daffodils to celebrate Easter and William Wordsworth’s 251st birthday.
The town normally hosts an annual a celebratory daffodil day event, but due to restrictions,
Cockermouth Rotary Club is encouraging the community to create their own displays. The Host of Golden Daffodils project aims to have a display of knitted, crocheted and other crafted daffodils around the town from April 2 to the end of the month. Read more here.
Max, the now famous springer spaniel from Keswick, will be the first pet to receive the PDSA Order of Merit, with previous recipients including police and search and rescue animals.
The dog's owner Kerry Irving said Max saved his life and helps many others.
The PDSA, which nicknamed the honour the "animal OBE", said the "positive and life-altering impact Max has on the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide is unprecedented".
A spokesman said Max's popularity on social media "provides a feel-good factor", and since 2017 the dog has also met more than 10,000 people and raised almost £300,000 for a number of charities. To read more, click here.
Creating Cumbria’s Sustainable Future run by British Energy Coast Business Cluster is a three day event focusing on the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Delegates will hear from a range of speakers and can take part in discussions on the challenges Cumbria and the wider region faces. There are 17 SDGs that range from energy to gender quality and women’s empowerment, sustainable consumption and production, oceans, and climate change. To register, click here.
Members of the public are now invited to join a virtual meeting to hear the latest information around the West Cumberland Hospital redevelopment. The hospital trust is holding some virtual events for staff and the wider community to gather views and feedback on the plans. The event for the public will be held on Thursday the 25th February at 4pm. To join click here. You can also pre-submit your questions ahead of the event via the link on the trust website.
Analysing the Prime Minister's Roadmap announcement - Cumbria Tourism will be looking at the Prime Minister's roadmap in further detail along with special guest Kurt Janson of the Tourism Alliance, alongside CT MD Gill Haigh, Chair Jim Walker and Vice-Chair Dan Visser. The event is free for CT members, click here to register.
Discover Cumbria Action for Sustainability's brand new carbon footprinting calculator and learn how to use it to set your own sustainability targets. For more information and to register, please click here.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have produced new video content in order to help your business keep moving. To get access you must fill in your business details and it will take you immediately to short, on-demand videos covering 18 topics, including importing and exporting, rules of origin and audit and accounting. To learn more, click here.
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