INTERVIEW
Sarah believes her team provided " an invaluable service " to businesses during the pandemic .
When Durham County Council became a unitary authority and absorbed the functions from the seven district councils , the new authority inherited a wide portfolio of business premises .
So as well as NETPark , Jade Business Park , Salvus House , and Aykley Heads , Sarah has responsibility for a mixture of industrial units and business centres in Durham , Consett , Tanfield Lea , Shildon , Spennymoor , Crook , Low Willington , Stanhope , Bishop Auckland , Barnard Castle and Chester-le-Street .
“ It ’ s a wide area geographically and demographically , but we have a great team here who are passionate about helping businesses grow wherever they are ,” she said .
And it ’ s a team Sarah knows well . She has been part of it since she joined Business Durham in 2011 as business development director .
Born in Somerset and brought up in North Yorkshire , Sarah studied law and economics at Keele University , later completing an MBA at Durham University Business School .
“ I wasn ’ t sure what I was going to do after leaving university , but my dad saw
an economic development job at Durham County Council advertised in The Guardian ’ s public sector jobs section and I applied .
“ I ’ d been doing some work experience at North Yorkshire County Council ’ s finance department linked to European funding and the role at Durham involved the same area . I ’ m sure that helped me get the job .”
She worked in different economic development and business support roles , becoming manager of East Durham Business Service . When the district councils were absorbed by Durham County Council , Sarah became a Business Start Up team leader until Business Durham was created in 2011 .
She joined the fledgling team as business development director before being appointed operations director in 2018 .
In 2020 , she became interim managing director and steered the organisation through the many challenges of Covid before being confirmed as MD earlier this year .
“ We just did what needed to be done , but the team was fantastic ,” she said of the last two years .
“ I think we provided an invaluable service during the most challenging of times . Uncertainty was a real problem for companies and we were scouring government briefings and getting newsletters and emails out to tenants with the very latest information as soon as we could . We also allowed tenants to defer their rent payments , which I think was massively helpful .
“ Sometimes it was just about talking to the businesses – some of them felt so isolated and just needed some informed guidance .”
Another important function Business Durham performed was to support the distribution of Covid business rate grants . She is also very proud of the work the team did to design and deliver a £ 5.2m Business Recovery Grant Scheme , funded by the county council , which has supported 349 businesses to implement recovery plans and helped to safeguard more than 4,000 jobs .
But Durham Business isn ’ t just about property .
Sarah said : “ We offer a wide range of support services . Our intention is to build
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