A NEW business centre in County Durham will give rural entrepreneurs the benefits of urban technology without having to move out of the countryside.

The i-Space at Enterprise House, Barnard Castle, hopes to stem the migration of talent and skills from Teesdale into urban areas by meeting the demand for high-quality accommodation for business start-up units.

The ten fully-furnished business units in the i-Space offer shared reception, meeting and conference facilities, as well as computer equipment with broadband technology.

Six of the ten units have already been rented out, and, it is hoped that after six months they will all be occupied.

Paul Harper, of Barnard Castle, who runs Britnett Training Services, a website development company, which employs seven people, was one of the first people to move into the i-Space.

He said: "Basing the company in Barnard Castle is not only convenient, but it is a real selling point.

"It allows customers to distinguish us from other city-based operations and gives a more customer-friendly and approachable image of the business. I am expecting Britnett to grow here, recruiting a further six staff next year."

The units were opened by Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster, who said: "These units will greatly improve the regeneration and job prospects within Teesdale."

The i-Space was developed out of a redundant industrial workshop in Enterprise House, and was based on a similar model which opened in Hexham last year. The £370,000 funding for the project was provided by One NorthEast, through the County Durham Economic Partnership, Teesdale District Council, Teesdale Development Company and the European Regional Development Fund.

Geoff Simpson, chairman of Teesdale Development Company, said: "The research carried out revealed a high proportion of self-employed people in the area who were building businesses based on knowledge economies such as marketing, management consultancy and specialist advice in areas including tourism and health and safety.

"These entrepreneurs wanted to have a professional base to conduct client meetings and also access to the latest broadband technology in order to download and upload large pieces of information."

For details about i-Space, contact Lynn Todhunter at Enterprise House, Harmire Park, Barnard Castle, or call (01833) 631251.