The Economic Development Team at West Berkshire Council has seen a lot of exciting things throughout 2022!
We launched our new Business Website in April 2022 and awarded £6,420,000 to local businesses through the Additional Restrictions Grant. We ended the year with a bang by receiving an award for being the best South Central Covid-19 Support and Recovery local authority!
Looking forward, we have a busy year ahead and we would like to share some of the key priorities we have with you.
Thatcham and Hungerford Town Centre Study
The public survey for Thatcham and Hungerford Town Centre study is still live but closing very soon. We are looking to create studies for these town centres in 2023 to boost the economy and increase footfall in these places. Now is your chance to have your say as a business on how you want to see the town centres developed for the future.
London Road Industrial Estate (LRIE)
Hemingway Design was appointed alongside SUDS and Energy consultants to deliver place-making strategy for LRIE. The strategy will include how everything on the estate will link together and make it a "place" that companies want to be.
The re-branding competition for schools has also closed and we will be appointing a winner from the submissions and carry forward their ideas into future works done on the estate.
Rural Economy
We will continue to focus on our Rural Economy in 2023. We have submitted our bid for the Rural Prosperity Fund which will come in just under £600,000 and this will be distributed over the next 2 years. More details will be available to rural businesses on how to apply in the coming months.
As well as this, this year we are looking to develop pilot schemes for Whole Estate Plans to help our Rural Estates to diversify and grow. This will help the collaboration between us and Estates with the work being co-produced.
Shared Prosperity Fund
We are going to be receiving the first of our allocated funding for UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2023 with the majority coming in 2024. The main focus of the funding will include:
- Create 3 new junior football pitches and a cricket field at Goosecroft Sportsground in Purley-on-Thames
- Re-design part of Newbury Wharf to create a public event space as proposed in the Newbury Masterplan
- Build a public art trail initiative across some of our rural villages
- Recruit a new Council Officer to work on attracting major private investment into West Berkshire
- Fund bespoke coaching and advice for local businesses, through the Berkshire Growth Hub
Supporting Business Needs
One of the items above is around coaching and giving advice to local businesses through the Growth Hub. This will be offered in 2023 with additional support from the Council on questions related to Council Services.
Encouraging Sustainability in Business
We work closely with our environmental colleagues to give advice and guidance to businesses that are looking to become more sustainable.
We also like to showcase our businesses that have a great environmental initiative. Over the past 2 years we have created digital magazines to showcase our local 'green' businesses and it's our aim to continue doing so in 2023. If you are a business with great green credentials, don't hesitate to get in touch to be included on our environmentally friendly business directory!
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