Ahead of the latest Great Yarmouth Chamber Council meeting, the members toured the 65% complete Beacon Park with Robin Neve. Beacon Park is part of the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone and is a mixture of offices light industrial units and warehousing, all aimed at the energy sector and clean modern industry. Details for Beacon Park can be found on their website: www.beaconpark.co.uk
The overall goal of the Enterprise Zone is to create new jobs and attract new businesses and enquiries for the Enterprise Zone are strong. Some of the benefits of the Enterprise Zone are simplified planning, reduce business rates for the first 5 years of occupancy, if premises are occupied before March 2018.
The Great Yarmouth Chamber council received an update on the overall Enterprise Zone from Eunice Edwards, the EZ Co-ordinator.
The Enterprise Zone in Great Yarmouth consists of Beacon Park and the larger South Denes area. In the Lowestoft Enterprise Zone there are a further 4 sites. At present 90% of those who have occupied units in the Great Yarmouth Enterprise Zone are from the local area and are looking to expand their businesses. The premises that they are vacating are quickly being filled, so the Great Yarmouth economy appears to be continuing to thrive, despite the recent slow down in the oil and gas industry.
Andy Penman, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber said:
“It is important to support the local business community and help drive economic growth and jobs in our region. Key issues for Great Yarmouth are skills shortages and the decline of our town centre. Therefore the Great Yarmouth Chamber Council members have set themselves three goals:
- Create 6 x new apprenticeships in the 12 month period between April 2015 – March 2016.
- Work towards securing a nationally known brand retailer to Great Yarmouth town centre
- Increase the Chamber membership in Great Yarmouth by 10%
We will work in partnership with local businesses, education establishments and the Great Yarmouth Borough Council to achieve these goals.”
