Share of £23,000 boosts business

A total of 27 businesses within Teesdale have either been set up or helped to expand thanks to the £23,000 fund.

The money was provided by North Pennines Leader Plus and Teesdale District Council, which teamed together to award a diverse range of businesses within the dale.

The majority of the fund went towards helping entrepreneurs set up their own business, but there was also support for existing small companies.

The businesses that received grants included a coffee house and deli, wine importers, a specialist sports clothes designer and a manufacturer of bespoke leather goods for dogs and horses.

Each of the recipients was given advice by the Teesdale Enterprise Agency about preparing business plans.

Then each entrepreneur had to give a presentation to a selection panel of two councillors and Enterprise Agency and Business Link advisors.

Councillor Ken Coates, the chairman of the Community Services committee, who sat on the selection panel, said: "With the help of these grants we hope these businesses can go on to employ more people and help the economy of Teesdale.

"There were some very interesting businesses with some good ideas."

Charlotte O'Byrne, a business advisor with Teesdale Enterprise Agency, said: "It was an absolutely unique fund as it allowed money for more or less anything, including marketing, as long as it was associated with business."

As a result, 17 businesses have started, ten existing small business have expanded and two projects have been undertaken in Teesdale. There will also be three new websites created for marketing and business promotion.

Teesdale has one of the highest rates of business start-ups in the region. Earlier this year, a fund that was set up to offset the loss of 400 jobs at the GlaxoSmithKline factory in Barnard Castle announced it had created more than 400 jobs.

The fund was set up with a £750,000 donation from Glaxo and initially aimed to help create 150 jobs.