A major overhaul of business support provided by the North East Mayoral has been given the green light by North East leaders. The move will see almost £26 million invested between January 2027 and March 2029, writes Local Democracy Reporter, James Robinson.
The new approach has been developed in partnership with the region’s business community, who had complained about various barriers to business growth including fragmentation, duplication and uneven access to support. The authority will introduce a “hub and spoke” model to make it easier for businesses to find the right support.
The mayoral authority will act as the “hub”, while the region’s seven local councils will act as the “spokes”, providing local intelligence and connecting businesses into the wider regional support offer. The £25.8 million comes on top of £7.1 million put forward earlier this year.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the authority’s cabinet, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “It’s not easy to start a business. We know that first hand – we know what the challenges are and how difficult the operating conditions can be.
“Now, we’re stepping in to support the region’s entrepreneurs. We’re investing £3 million to support people who have taken their good idea and created a business, who want to do well, create jobs and take their business global.”
The council’s business board member John McCabe, who is also the chief executive at the North East Chamber of Commerce, added: “This is a big investment, and it’s really important.
“Businesses have been involved in designing what this looks like. So many of the businesses I talk to tell me they’re spending to much time working in their business rather than on their business.
“They are the very people who we want to lift their expectations, lift their ambition and start thinking about their three, five and ten year planning – how they are going to grow their business and create more good quality jobs in our region? Something like this, the way it’s been designed, really enables them to do that.”
James Robinson
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
