International Trade Secretary visits Tamworth Enterprise Centre

Cabinet Minister Liam Fox has visited Tamworth’s successful new business enterprise centre.

The Secretary of State for International Trade had a look at the facilities on offer in the state-of-the-art Tamworth Enterprise Centre and met some of the small business owners who have set up office there. He is pictured with business owners and Tamworth councillors.

Housed in the former Philip Dix Centre in Corporation Street, the business hub provides modern serviced offices to rent, well-appointed meeting rooms for hire, an executive business lounge, virtual offices, conference facilities, superfast broadband, Wi-Fi, interactive TVs and much more.

The Tamworth Enterprise Centre is the first phase in a £6.1million project by Tamworth Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council to create an Enterprise Quarter in the Corporation Street area of the town.

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership helped finance the development of the enterprise centre as part of a £2.95million Growth Fund investment.

Tamworth Enterprise Centre is managed by Tamworth Borough Council’s Economic Development and Regeneration team and was running with all 16 offices let within weeks of its official opening, with more businesses registered on a waiting list.

Experts from the Economic Development and Regeneration Team and other business organisations, such as the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP’s Growth Hub, are also on hand at times to give businesses direct access to help and support in setting up or growing their ventures.

Tamworth Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration, Cllr Steve Claymore, said: “The enterprise centre was designed to support the creation and growth of small businesses and entrepreneurship in Tamworth, as well as creating jobs and employment. We knew there would be a need for such a facility, but we have been quite amazed by the level of demand – which is a good sign for the local economy.

“Tamworth Enterprise Centre is off to a really promising start and it’s great that it has attracted the attention of a Cabinet minister who took the time to have a look round and speak to some of the businesses which currently operate from the centre.”

Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Economic Growth, Mark Winnington, said: “Tamworth Enterprise Centre is a thriving hub for small businesses and was highly in demand even before it opened. Its popularity further demonstrates that the economy in Tamworth and Staffordshire is thriving. We worked with the borough council to create the centre, which is supporting the wider regeneration of the town. It provides tenants with excellent facilities and flexible tenancy arrangements, allowing them to grow and prosper. We were pleased to showcase the success of the centre to a Cabinet minister.”

For more information about the facilities on offer, businesses can visit the website www.tamworthenterprisecentre.co.uk, or email tec@tamworth.gov.uk to enquire about hiring a meeting room. Prices range from £10 to £20 per hour depending on the size of the room. Virtual office packages range in price from £30 for registered address and post box services to £200 including meeting room credits.