Halton Borough Council’s Business Support Service is opening its doors to businesses in Halton’s town centres, Runcorn and Widnes.
In July of this year the design of a diagnostic tool specifically for town centre businesses took place, gaining good practice from business support and diagnostics throughout the UK. An audit has been completed in Runcorn and Widnes to verify which businesses are trading in each of the town centres, which has resulted in 47 businesses who have already been engaged in the programme.
Cllr Paul Nolan, the Council’s Executive Board member for Employment Learning, Skills and Community, commented: “We’re delighted to open up the fully funded support we can offer to town centre businesses, which means if businesses are in Runcorn or Widnes town centre then they will likely be eligible for this practical support to help them grow.”
Support will be prioritised for locally owned businesses, within the DALP definition of Runcorn and Widnes, who will benefit from undertaking a diagnostic and working with an advisor to help understand their goals and to assist with the development of business ideas and plans.
Advisers are currently running a diagnostic and working with business owners to help them identify the right steps forward to achieve business growth across a range of core business topics; finance, sales and marketing, employment and HR, innovation, technology exploitation, international trade, skills and training.
The outcome of delivering the diagnostic can also be referral to other business support programmes delivering support in the Halton area including the Business Support Service.
Halton’s Business Support service offers fully-funded consultancy support to eligible businesses in the borough of Halton, with a focus on growing small and medium sized businesses. Delivery is via 1-2-1 and one-to-many sessions.
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as the lead authority. The project is expected to run until March 2025.
Any business who has not been approached can contact business@halton.gov.uk to assess eligibility and access support.