Furness Enterprise- will it's closure affect our area?

Barrow has been dealt another blow in its efforts to secure funding for businesses and regeneration with the closure of Northwest Regional Development Agency and now the posibble closure of Furness Enterprise. I am asking that the people of Barrow support the campaign to save the agency and secure the prosperity and future of the area.

Barrow has been dealt another cruel  blow in its efforts to boost the local economy as South Cumbria's leading enterprise agency Furness Enterprise recently announced that it will close in August due to lack of funding with the loss of 18 jobs. The news that the enterprise agency which was set-up in the 1990's and has created 10,000 jobs, safeguarded thousands more and successfully campaigned for the A590 Newton By Pass has brought concerns for the local economy. It is why I feel I need to highlight the case for saving the agency.

Bosses at the troubled agency had made a last-ditch application for funding but were turned down due to 'ferocious' competition. The chief executive Harry Knowles said that the closure will 'impact on a deprived area, with a community and businesses that deserve better.' Along with the closure many new-start businesses will be impacted with little or no free advice and support and businesses and companies will also miss out on investment. Not only this but unemployed people will also miss out on intensive support to find and secure work.

The business community has also been shocked at the announcement of the closure with many commending the hardwork that the agency has carried out over the years to secure jobs and to provide support to many businesses across the Furness area. Unfortunately, the agency is not the only one to suffer as the government looks to make savings and to change the way that business support is delivered. It  would seem though that the Tories are up to there old tricks and leaving many towns like Barrow to be left to sink or swim!  Also with the scrapping of local regeneration agencies such as the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) things can only get worse. We have already seen the ambitious plans for the redevelopment of unused dockland on Barrow Island scrapped or postponed due to the closure of the agencies that have fought for the Barrow and Furness corner.

Following the scrapping of the NWDA and other regional development agencies the Con-Dem government (condemn- quite an apt name for this government if you ask me) has announced the creation of Enterprise Zones. At budget it announced 11 new enterprise zones in the Black Country, Tee Side, the North East and in Merseyside. Also announced as areas for Enterprise Zones are cities such as Manchester and Birmingham.

I don't know about you, but I have been watching as these new enterprise zones were announced in the vain hope that Cumbria will be included but low and behold the announcements came and yet again Barrow and Furness have missed out on this opportunity. Why? The government says that the application for Cumbria named 'Fueling the nation' and aimed at kick-starting schemes at Lilly-hall, Workington and Barrow Waterfront was 'unsuccessful.' saying that the bid was 'not strong enough'.

Many people have argued that Enterprise Zones although successful in boosting the economy in areas where the zones are created, they can be an 'expensive; exercise and only 'displace jobs over boundaries' and into the zones. I feel though that it is what Cumbria needed to kick-start the local economy and get schemes such as Barrow Waterfront off the ground.

The enterprise zones benefit from tax breaks, relaxed planning laws, high-speed broadband and low business rates and if Cumbria was given the status, schemes like Lilly hall and Barrow Waterfront would have only benefited as businesses would be encouraged to come to the area and attract much needed investment and jobs However, it seems that Cumbria has missed out on this opportunity and in the meantime towns like Barrow are now left to just sink or swim.

That’s why I am supporting the campaign to fight for the Furness Economy and to save Furness Enterprise. Furness Enterprise has helped many people like me to turn business ideas into a reality with the support and guidance that I needed to access funding for my new business venture. Without them I wouldn't have gone forward with my plans and as I look to turn these plans into  areality I feel that I will need the support that Furness Enterprise provides.

Without Furness Enterprise many people will not benefit from the same level of support and guidance that I and many enterprising young people have had. If I am right the agency is also the main partner in the Waterfront Barrow development and was also offering support for the long term unemployed and that is why we need to save the agency.  Even Our forrmer MP John Hutton has  stepped up to try and save the agency and the future of Furness by announcing that he will look to secure funding through the Crown Estate's Coastal Communities Fund. Mind you from what I have rea,  most of this funding is allocated to Scotland- but whatever the outcome we need to help in the fight for Furness by signing the petition to save Furness Enterprise.

You can sign the petition by following the link on the homepage of the Evening Mail's website. Together we can ensure the future prosperity of the area. 

Its not just 18 jobs at risk it is the future of furness if the agency is forced to close. Please lets try and save this agency...