Member Article

Last chance to enter into the UK's entrepreneurial spirit

Towns, cities, and areas across the UK are being encouraged to take part in the Department of Trade and Industry’s Enterprising Britain 2007 competition. The competition was launched in January by Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Industry and the Regions, and looks to identify places that have created jobs, brought communities together, and made a real difference to local businesses and people.

Run in two stages, the winning entries from the regional stage go forward to compete in the national finals of Enterprising Britain later in the year, and have the chance to be named the UK’s most enterprising place. The overall UK winner will then represent the UK at the European Enterprise Awards in December.

Margaret Hodge said: “There are cities, towns and communities throughout the country that have placed enterprise at their heart and helped make Britain a better place to live and work. Enterprising Britain is a great chance to celebrate this. “I encourage all those innovative projects out there that have used the spirit of enterprise to make a difference to people’s lives to enter this year’s competition and have a chance to be crowned the UK’s enterprise champion.”

The competition is open to towns, cities and communities as well as public-private partnerships between public authorities and entrepreneurs, educational programmes, and business organisations. Last year’s Enterprising Britain winner was West Kilbride Craft and Design Town, a small town in Scotland, which managed to overcome above average unemployment and a town centre blighted by empty and unkempt shops by using a specialised theme to revitalise and transform itself into a thriving community.

For more information about Enterprising Britain 2007 and how to enter, please visit www.sbs.gov.uk/enterprisingbritain.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .