This news item is over 3 months old and has been archived.
Rally behind Scarborough's bid to be best in Britain
Scarborough is calling on everyone in
Yorkshire to cross their fingers for them on 16 October 2008 as
representatives from the town’s Renaissance Partnership head to
Downing Street for the national finals of Enterprising Britain
2008.
Scarborough, named in the summer as the
Yorkshire and the Humber Enterprising Britain finalist, is up
against 11 other places from across the UK in the battle to be
crowned the most enterprising place in Britain. If named the
overall winner of Enterprising Britain 2008, Scarborough will then
go on to compete with the best of Europe by representing the UK in
the prestigious European Enterprise Awards.
The Scarborough Renaissance Partnership has
been singled out for its efforts to build a culture of enterprise
in Yorkshire and the Humber through its transformation of
Scarborough over the past six years. In 2002, Scarborough
stood at the crossroads. Like other coastal towns, economic
decline in recent decades had created a climate of stagnation and
inertia.
The catalyst for change happened with the
designation of Scarborough as an urban renaissance town, leading to
a Community Planning Weekend in 2002. This attracted over
1000 people from all sectors of the community and acted as a
rallying call for the community to take up the opportunity to
change Scarborough for the better.
The Scarborough Renaissance Partnership
emerged directly out of the Community Planning weekend. With
strong support from Scarborough Borough Council, it has effectively
pioneered the renaissance and regeneration of Scarborough over the
past six years. There is little doubt that the Renaissance
Partnership has radically transformed the face of Scarborough;
business investment has improved, unemployment is declining and
most importantly, the community has both embraced and is driving
change. There is now a real culture of enterprise and
confidence running through the town, demonstrated by the higher
levels of investment and a community desire to improve the quality
in all areas.
Enterprising Britain 2008 is a nationwide
competition run by Make Your Mark on behalf of the Department for
Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), and in
partnership with Yorkshire Forward.
Now in its fourth year, the competition
celebrates and rewards the most enterprising areas in the UK; those
places of enterprise excellence that have helped transform the
social and economic fortunes for their area.
Cllr Tom Fox, Leader of Scarborough Borough
Council said:
“Winning Enterprising Britain would be a
fantastic accolade for Scarborough and would be just reward for
everyone who has contributed to the regeneration and renaissance of
the town over the past few years. We have already
demonstrated how enterprising the whole of Scarborough is by the
way the community has embraced renaissance and turned around the
town. I would also like to give thanks and praise to everyone
who contributed to our entry for the Enterprising Britain
competition. This was a truly whole community approach and
produced some very enterprising ways of working.”
Tony Peers, Chairman of the Scarborough
Renaissance Partnership, added:
“Becoming the most enterprising town in the
country would be the real icing on the cake for Scarborough and for
renaissance. If we do win then it is something that everyone
in the town can be proud of, as at the end of the day, it is about
the way that the whole town has shown enterprise in changing the
fortunes of Scarborough.”
For more information about Scarborough’s
involvement in the Enterprising Britain competition, please contact
John Burroughs, the council’s Regeneration Officer on 01723 232324
or email to: john.burroughs@scarborough.gov.uk