NEWS
Cllr Carl Marshall , Durham County Council ’ s cabinet member for economic regeneration , with Business Durham interim managing director Sarah Slaven .
SIX AYCLIFFE FIRMS BENEFIT FROM £ 200K + COVID RECOVERY FUNDING
Six businesses in Newton Aycliffe have so far benefited from a pot of funding designed specifically to help them recover from Covid .
The £ 5m Durham Business Recovery grant , funded by Durham County Council , is aimed at businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis who are developing credible plans to meet the challenges caused by the pandemic – such as adapting business models , developing new products or entering new markets .
The grant scheme , overseen by Business Durham , the economic development arm of Durham County Council , provides grants from £ 1,000 up to a maximum of £ 40,000 for businesses with a clear recovery plan .
It has already proved extremely popular since its launch in January , receiving 467 applications worth £ 6.9m .
The applications received to date from across the county will help to safeguard up to 700 jobs .
And now six Aycliffe firms have had their applications approved , totalling just under £ 209,000 , out of £ 1.12m awarded in total across the county so far .
The Aycliffe beneficiaries to date include Howarth Limited , Meridian Upholstery , Planet Leisure , Raisco , BTS Fabrications and Durham Precision Engineering .
Stu Howarth , one of the directors at Howarth Ltd , which runs both Newton Press and the Newton News , said : “ We ’ ve accessed the funding to make critical machine improvements . One of the issues we ’ ve faced is that many of our suppliers have gone out of business , so we ’ ve had to find alternative solutions .
“ The funding will certainly help us as we continue our evolution through the pandemic , and we ’ d encourage any business with an investment project to try to access the funding .
“ We found the process very easy and straightforward , compared to other funding programmes , which only took a few weeks from start to finish – and we applaud Durham County Council and Business Durham for being so proactive with this funding grant .” Across Durham county more than 80 businesses of varying size have secured funding already with over £ 1.12m being awarded to date .
Two thirds of the grants have been awarded to smaller projects , with sectors supported including business services , construction , healthcare , information and communication , retail and hospitality , manufacturing , engineering and tourism .
The scheme is supporting companies across County Durham , in all sectors and varying in size from micro-businesses to those employing up to 250 people in the county .
Cllr Carl Marshall , Durham County Council ’ s cabinet member for economic regeneration , said : “ We launched the £ 5m Durham Business Recovery Grant scheme to demonstrate our commitment to local businesses and help them get back on track after the biggest economic disruption in living memory .
“ With the prospect of the economy gradually starting to open up , it ’ s great to see so many County Durham businesses coming forward with clear recovery plans outlining how the recovery grant can give them the cash injection they need to reach new customers , manufacture new products and diversify into new markets .
“ It ’ s vital that we continue to help businesses to adapt and thrive , while safeguarding jobs and developing a sustainable economy for the long term .”
Sarah Slaven , interim managing director of Business Durham , said : “ We are delighted to be able to fund these six Aycliffe businesses , together with all of the other companies that have been awarded grants so far , to help each of them tackle the challenges from the ongoing crisis and position themselves for recovery .
“ Each of these companies has outlined clear recovery plans and identified how funding from the Durham Business Recovery Grant can help them to get their business back on track . It is inspiring to see the grant scheme helping businesses and giving hope for the future after such a difficult year .”
For further information on the business support available in County Durham visit businessdurham . co . uk .
BUSINESS BRIEFS
TREASURY NORTH It was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak that the Treasury ’ s new Northern Economic Campus will be moving to Darlington .
This is part of Downing Street ’ s plan to relocate more than 22,000 civil servants out of London by 2030 as part of the Government ’ s continued levelling up agenda .
The move will see 750 senior civil servants move to Darlington and senior officials , including the Chancellor , will spend a substantial amount of time in the town .
See pages 22-23 for Aycliffe Business ’ reaction to the spring budget .
FREEPORT BOOST The Tees region was one of just eight locations to be selected as a freeport zone during Rishi Sunak ’ s 2021 Budget .
The chancellor said freeports – “ special economic zones with different rules to make it easier and cheaper to do business ” – will be located at East Midlands Airport , Felixstowe and Harwich , the Humber region , the Liverpool City Region , Plymouth , Solent , Thames and Teesside .
Teesside was selected over a similar bid by the ports of Tyne and Wear .
See pages 22-23 for Aycliffe Business ’ reaction to the spring budget .
WORK STARTS ON £ 400m PARK Work is set to begin on a major business park for County Durham , paving the way for 4,000 new jobs and a £ 400m boost to the economy .
Durham County Council is to begin work on the park at Aykley Heads , at Durham City , having already pledged £ 6m to the project ’ s first phase .
The remaining £ 6m phase one comes from the Government ’ s Getting Building Fund , which aims to deliver jobs , skills and infrastructure across the country .
AYCLIFFE BUSINESS We ’ re already working on the 51st issue of Aycliffe Business , due out in May . Booking deadline May 7 . To enquire call 01325 728024 or email martin @ aycliffetoday . co . uk .
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 13