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Well we did it!
We were on our way to Prague to take part in a two day conference celebrating the very best of enterprise and to see if we had been successful in the competition to find 'Europe's Most Enterprising Place'.
After a day of conference and a presentation to a good sized audience (we found it quite disconcerting speaking to people all wearing headphones – you wonder if they are listening to you, we were then taken to the Zofin Palace, a most beautiful building on Zofin Island in the middle of the river Vlata that runs through the centre of the city. The 18th century building constructed by Vaclav Novotny and named after Princess Sofie who was the mother of Emperor Frantisek Josef was built as a cultural centre in the classic Neo Renaissance Style. Highly suitable for the Scarborough team.
It had seen some pretty great performers throughout history with performances from Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner - it was now Scarborough's turn. The dinner proceeded with awards being given to some very strong competition from the likes of a science park in Sweden, a project from Belgium to engage the young entrepreneur and an impressive Polish project in a formerly depressed rural area making the most of its rich cultural heritage. Right at the end when we were wondering why we had been given such a prominent table and thinking that all the awards had been made and we were to go home empty handed, the announcement was made of the Grand Jury Prize – and yes it was Scarborough.
We were elated.
Our small group was then invited up onto the stage to receive the award. This was a prize for the town and the region, and a big thank you to all those of you who have been involved in the programme of activity that has allowed us to deliver this wonderful renaissance of Scarborough. On a humbling note however one element struck me. We were a small group of English people in the middle of Europe. Foreign tongues were obviously spoken everywhere but all of the business was conducted in English.
Scarborough Urban Renaissance Phase 2
Time to move on - with an overview of the next few years.
* Themes
* Issues to be addressed
* Progress over the last 4 years
* Developing a contemporary & vibrant Scarborough
* Current prioritised projects
* Projects other possible
* Developing Scarborough as a learning town
* Connecting local people to local jobs
* Consultation
From Nick Taylor - Renaissance Manager
Scarborough - the most enterprising town in Europe - what difference will this make to Scarborough and the area?
• Most importantly it will raise the awareness of the town throughout the rest of the country and Europe.
• It will give us a superb opportunity to get into the national media.
• It will allow local companies and organisations to make the point that they are from the most enterprising place in Europe which adds to their competitiveness. Dozens are already using the fact we are the best in Britain.
• It will be supportive to those who have invested in their businesses and aim to bring more economic activity into the town. This in turn will promote more jobs and help the viability of the town.
• The take up of the available land on the business park will improve, again bringing more jobs to town.
• The investments being made in projects such as the Spa Complex will be made more worthwhile as the image of the town continues to improve bringing more conferences.
• Local companies and organisations will find recruiting people from the rest of the country easier as again the image is improved.
• Local businesses supplying the full range of ancillary services will be needed.
There will be many other reasons why this will be a benefit to our town and in the meantime we need stories of achievements, milestones and events. There are so many companies winning national accolades such as AWJ Group winning the Glass Company of the Year 2008/9 and Castle Employment being finalists in the ‘Best Small Recruitment Firm to work for’ at a national conference from within their business sector. There are many more stories such as these, coming from voluntary groups just as much as businesses, so please let us know and we can
Scarborough - the most enterprising town in Europe
** Scarborough has been named as the most enterprising town in Europe. **
In October 2008 the Scarborough Renaissance Partnership was named the enterprise capital of the UK beating competition from such cities as Nottingham and Plymouth - having already become the winner of Enterprising Britain 2008 for Yorkshire and Humberside. The Partnership then went forward (with 12 other nominees) to the European awards.
Final results were announced on May 13th at a ceremony in Prague. The winners of this annual event act as role models across the regions of Europe and provide excellent examples how to create environments where entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship can flourish.
The objectives of the awards are to:
· Identify and recognise successful activities that promote enterprise and entrepreneurship;
· Showcase and share examples of best entrepreneurship policies and practices;
· Develop a greater awareness of the role entrepreneurs play in society; and
· Encourage and inspire potential entrepreneurs.
From the final nominees 13 candidate regions were short listed for the 2008 awards covering entrepreneurship promotion, red tape reduction, enterprise support, investment in skills, and
responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship.
Short listed are :
1. Belgium 'A team of entrepreneurship awareness-raising workers', Agence de Stimulation Economique (Economic Stimulation Agency), Liège
2. Finland 'Knowledge, skills, support – from entrepreneur to entrepreneur', The Women’s Enterprise Agency, Helsinki
3. France' Gers Soho Solo project', Gers Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gers
4. Germany - 'Unternehmergymnasium Bayern: Unternehmertum mit Abitur (Entrepreneurial Grammar School Bavaria: Entrepreneurship Education and School Graduation in one Go) ' ,
Unternehmergymnasium Bayern, Pfarrkirchen
5. Germany- 'Getting people into work', Waldkirch Employment and Qualification Company (WABE), Waldkirch
6. Hungary 'ANTI-BUREAU', Miskolc Holding Zrt., Miskolc
7. Lithuania 'Reduction of statistical reporting burden to respondents', Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian Statistics), Vilnius
8. Poland - 'Commune of Bieliny' – Our Power Spot, Commune of Bieliny, Bieliny
9. Poland - 'Pottery Village', the Nidzica Development Foundation (NIDA), Nidzica
10. Spain - 'Home support programme for entrepreneurs (PAED)', Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Aragón Regional Government, Zaragoza
11. Spain - 'Instituto IDEAS', Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), Valencia
12. Sweden Gothia Science Park, Enterprise and Community Building Sector, Municipality of Skövde
13. United Kingdom - Scarborough Renaissance Partnership, Scarborough Renaissance Partnership, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
it's a coast thing . . .
At the Town Team meeting in March Adrian Riley showed the artwork for the 'it's a coast thing' logo.
If you are the owner of a company or the secretary of a local charity or organisation, we would be delighted if you would use the image in your promotional material.
Click the link below for a 'pfd' file of guidelines for using the brand
Mere & Oliver's Mount Country Park Proposals
Scarborough Borough Council and consultants TEP have completed the masterplan and feasibility study for the possible future of the Mere and Oliver’s Mount area.
There are four PDF files for download :
* Mere and Oliver's Mount final Masterplan.
* Mere and Oliver's Mount Masterplan Information Note.
* Mere and Oliver's Mount Masterplan Presentation to Councillors.
* Mere and Oliver's Mount Masterplan Final Masterplan.
The Cinder Track - The Scarborough to Whitby Old Railway Line
This former railway line (it closed in 1965) runs from Scarborough to Whitby and a relatively even surface suitable for walking, cycling and horse riding. There are also a number of sections of the track with disabled access ramps.
In the Autumn of 2009, as part of a ‘Live Project’, a group of architecture students from Sheffield University worked with the other groups involved to develop a phased masterplan for future development of the line. One such group is The Friends of The Old Railway who are a group of local residents who have lobbied for improvements to the line and secured funding for initiatives to improve the line.
The website below records the project.
