All of the national indicators seem to be suggesting that the country is in the grip of a sustained recovery? There may be disagreement between political parties on how this is being experienced by different sections of society but in general things look to be on the up!
Locally, for Wellingborough, this is the precise time to make sure that all of the plans which have been put in place over the last decade and have stalled due to the recession are now delivered.
All of the national indicators seem to be suggesting that the country is in the grip of a sustained recovery? There may be disagreement between political parties on how this is being experienced by different sections of society but in general things look to be on the up!
Locally, for Wellingborough, this is the precise time to make sure that all of the plans which have been put in place over the last decade and have stalled due to the recession are now delivered. Unfortunately funding restrictions and viability issues meant that many projects were shelved or put on hold but what is now encouraging is that some of these look on the point of being built. They also reflect most of the priorities that you have said are important for the town.
Tresham College redevelopment – An application for the redevelopment of the Church Street site is being progressed which would see a new campus opened for students in September 2015.
Station Interchange – A proposal to extend Midland Road across the railway and River Ise is to be delivered to provide access to Stanton Cross development and new station facilities.
Wellingborough North – A start on major housing development to the north of Niort Way is anticipated.
On the back of this anticipated start of construction activity increased lobbying should occur to ensure that the development of Wellingborough can be sustained and particularly that infrastructure to allow the early release of employment land is prioritised.
Business Survey Feedback
The Chamber undertook its largest business survey in November as part of the ‘Enterprising Wellingborough’ campaign to help it understand current issues and views. We have fed these results into the consultation that Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership is conducting in their bid to secure £100m for infrastructure and economic development funding.
The following are the highlights from or survey and what you told us.
How do you expect your company to perform over the next 12 months?
We have all been heartened by recent economic indicators which seem to be suggesting a sustained recovery and the confidence is echoed locally. You said that 82% of you expected to grow in the next 12 month and 50% intended to take on more employees.
What are the biggest constraints to future growth?
The top issues which you felt were holding you back were cost of utilities and general competition. Lack of skills and the impact of business rates were close behind as being inhibitors of future growth.
Which areas would you like to see more support from NEP?
The main area for increased support was for business growth beyond 3 years, 12% of those surveyed thought that this would be helpful for expanding small businesses. You also thought that support was needed for more research and development capital investment (8%) and to support the better use of ICT for SMEs (8%).
What are the key infrastructure priorities for Wellingborough?
We provided you with a long list of infrastructure projects that are likely to come forward as a result of the planned growth for Wellingborough. You told us that at the top of your list was the regeneration of the town centre. Following this was the improvements to the station associated with the Stanton Cross development and then the redevelopment of the Tresham Campus on Church Street. The provision of superfast broadband was also seen as a priority.
What is the one thing that would make your business grow and flourish?
A fifth of people surveyed stated that access to finance was the key issue to help their business grow. Availability to grant funding and loans for investment was next together with reducing business rates.
The Chamber will continue to respond to and engage in the consultation with Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership to represent the needs and wishes of Wellingborough businesses.
Don’t forget that certain grants and support through NEP are already available such as the INV-ENT programme which can provide up to £20,000 for innovative and job creating growth proposals – more details available at www.northamptonshireep.co.uk/INV-ENT/
The Northamptonshire Growth Hub is also the new one stop business support service for Northamptonshire who can be contacted on 0844 556 0101 or www.northamptonshiregrowthhub.co.uk/
Wellingborough Business Improvement District (BID)
The Wellingborough BID has been working to improve the economic prospects of the town centre since 2009. The term of this BID is now coming to an end and businesses within the BID area are being consulted to see if they will support a further BID which will extend for a 5 year period.
The businesses within the BID area all pay a levy which is based on a percentage of the business rateable value. In the first 3 years the BID has concentrated on marketing activities and events to increase the footfall within Wellingborough and providing activities which people will come into town for. Events such as the Summer beach on Market Street, Medieval Festival, Continental Market and Christmas lights switch on have all contributed to pulling more people into the town. The BID has also provided free commercial waste collection to all the businesses which has saved hundreds of pounds for many companies.
The Chamber supports the consultation and process to establish the BID for a second period which will reflect the priorities of the local businesses. Without a BID all of the marketing and promotional activity for the town will not continue and the current programme of events will cease as Wellingborough Council continues to have to find savings and will not be able to invest in this type of support for the town centre.
Government Retail Business Rate Relief Scheme
The government is seeking to support small retail high street businesses by providing automatic business rate relief of £1,000 for 2014-14 and 2015-16. These businesses must be occupied and have a rateable value of £50,000 or below.
The announcement was made in last year in the Autumn Statement and details have recently been published on how this scheme will be administrated. This reduction in business rates will be welcomed by many retailers and it supports further action by the government to help high street businesses in a £1bn support package including:
- capping the annual Retail Price Index (RPI) increase in bills at 2% in 2014 to 2015 – businesses were expecting a 3.2% rise
- extending the doubling of the small business rates relief to April 2015
- small business rate relief has also been extended to include small firms taking on an additional second property (for up to a year), helping an estimated 3,000 businesses expand
- a reoccupation discount of 50% off business rates bill for 18 months for new occupants of retail premises previously empty for a year or more
- allowing businesses to pay their bills over 12 months, rather than 10, to help every firm with their monthly cash flow
We hope this has the effect of strengthening Wellingborough’s excellent independent retail outlets and encouraging more budding retailers to open within the town centre.
