For the past 30 years, Erewash Partnership has been giving new and growing businesses in Erewash a helping hand.
There are examples all over the country where the loss of traditional industries has impacted heavily on a local economy. The decline of industries such as coal mining, ship building, textiles and steel, left an economic vacuum in many areas.
Back in the early 1990s, the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, found itself in such a situation.
Something needed to be done to fill the void. In Erewash, a proactive approach was taken. In 1994, the business community came together with Erewash Borough Council to try to regenerate the local economy by attracting and setting up new businesses and creating jobs.
Erewash Partnership was born, and 30 years later, this public/private sector organisation is still going strong.
Today, it has over 250 business club members, including businesses large and small, Erewash Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, universities, schools, charities and the voluntary sector.
As well as having a strong membership, the partnership can look back on an equally strong legacy.
It is estimated that over the last 30 years, the partnership has helped more than 1,500 businesses set up, and has helped secure millions of pounds worth of grant funding, developed new commercial units and run countless initiatives to help businesses and individuals.
Essentially, the Partnership is a not-for-profit organisation, providing free help and support to new and growing businesses within the borough and beyond. Thankfully, some of those businesses establish themselves and go on to be successful, and support the Partnership in return – appreciating that their support is for the greater good of the area.
Erewash Partnership got off the ground thanks to the help of some key private sector supporters. They included firms such as Saint-Gobain, Pressac, EM Electricity, TecQuipment, Clegg Construction, Ron Brooks and Ilkeston Co-op. This was married with support from Erewash Borough Council.
Ian Viles has been the partnership’s chief executive since it was incorporated in May 1994. Ian said: “Erewash Partnership is indebted to those who supported us and continue to do so. It is a partnership in every sense of the word – and remains so to this day.”
Erewash Partnership is a small team – but they are making big differences to the local economy and the lives of individuals. Today, there are a number of successful and well-established businesses around the borough, who were helped by Erewash Partnership”.
And as well as helping businesses, over the last 30 years the partnership has secured grants from local and national government and the European Union totalling more than £5 million.
This money, plus hard work by the partnership team, has had an impact on the local economy during this time of scores of millions of pounds.
Schemes it has managed and delivered since 1994 include the setting up of the Cotmanhay Enterprise Centre delivering neighbourhood learning programmes for more than a decade to help people gain new skills.
It has built industrial units on the Manners Industrial Estate, in Ilkeston, and set up business centres at Castledine House and The Old Police Station, also in Ilkeston, and at Bridge House, Long Eaton.
It managed the Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes in Ilkeston and Long Eaton to enhance buildings and the street scene.
And it set up the ‘shopwatch’ RadioLink systems in Ilkeston and Long Eaton for shops to combat shoplifting.
And it has held scores of successful business exhibition/networking events and advice sessions where people can make new contacts.
Finally, the partnership organises one of the most popular annual events in Ilkeston – the Heritage and Classic Vehicle Show. Now in its tenth year, the show is the town’s biggest one-day event, attracting people from a wide area.
But, financially, how does the partnership manage to do all this? It is the strong partnership between the public and private sector that has been the real key to its longevity.
