Brand new programme of FREE business support events coming to the East Yorkshire Coast soon!

Part of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Invest East Yorkshire’s Business Support Services team already provides a comprehensive package of support to businesses, from events and workshops to one-to-one advice and help identifying sources of funding. It also manages The Supply Chain Network Supplier Directory, which was created for businesses to showcase their products and services, and a Resource Portal, where businesses can find a wide range of free information, tools and templates. The team is also able to signpost businesses to other support providers and draw upon the expertise of colleagues in other departments across the council, such as planning, licensing and environmental health.

However, as the team develops a brand new programme of events, workshops and other activities exclusively for businesses in Bridlington, Withernsea and other coastal areas of East Yorkshire, it’s keen to hear from business owners about the kind of support, advice and guidance that they feel would benefit them most. This will enable the team to tailor its new programme of activities to the needs of businesses based in coastal towns and villages, ensuring that they can access workshops, training and other events that they need locally.

Dawn Hall, Business Support Services Manager for Invest East Yorkshire, said: “We provide a wide range of support to businesses across East Yorkshire on an ongoing basis but, with this new programme of events, workshops and activities that we’re developing for businesses in coastal areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire, we really want to ensure that it’s suited to their specific needs. That’s why we’re keen to hear from business owners about what they feel they need most. Any feedback provided will then help us shape this new, bespoke programme of support, with events and workshops in Bridlington, Withernsea and other coastal locations. We’ll be sharing more details of this soon, so watch this space!”

During the last 15 months, the Business Support Services team has handled more then 1500 enquiries from businesses across  East Yorkshire, more than half of which (764) then went on to register for the full range of support and advice on offer. The team then provided specialist support to 742 of these businesses, which was tailored to their individual needs.

In the last 12 months alone, the team has helped East Yorkshire-based businesses to access grant funding worth in excess of £550,000, enabling them to diversify and embark on new projects aimed at helping them to grow.

Further details of the new programme of activities for businesses in coastal areas, including the dates and venues for events, will be announced soon. In the meantime, businesses are welcome to contact the team by emailing business.support@eastriding.gov.uk, telephoning 01482 391622 or visiting www.investeastyorkshire.co.uk/business-support to request details about the forthcoming programme, or offer feedback on the kind of support they’d like to access locally.