Success stories
Pennine Lancashire faces national judges in battle for UK enterprise crown
Monday 27th July
No Limits, Enterprising Britain's North West winner, was given to the opportunity to show why they should be named the most enterprising place in the UK, when Enterprising Britain judge Nick Taylor visited today (Friday, July 24).
Beating stiff competition from across the region, Pennine Lancashire's No Limits was named the most enterprising place in England's Northwest in the Government's Enterprising Britain competition earlier this month.
Enterprising Britain 2009 is a nationwide competition run by Enterprise Insight on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations. Now in its fifth 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 of their area.
No Limits impressed the judges with their innovative approach to enterprise, using ways that would engage young people from Pennine Lancashire. Uniquely No Limits were able to work with a number of high profile Football Clubs in the area to set up enterprise centres including Burnley's Turf Moor Enterprise Haven and Blackburn Rovers Enterprise Centre. The enterprise ‘havens' are part of a £30m programme to regenerate the Pennine Lancashire economy through supporting new and growing businesses, creating up to 13,000 jobs and 4,000 new businesses over the next decade.
It is now up to an expert panel of national judges, who will be visiting the projects, to decide which one best deserves the accolade of most enterprising place in the UK.
Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Economic Development at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) said: "This year the Northwest round of the Enterprising Britain Awards attracted a record number of entries, all of which were well deserving of the prize. There's no doubt that No Limits wowed the judges, who this year had an immensely difficult decision to decide on a winner.
"The Enterprising Britain Awards continue to strengthen the enterprise culture in the UK, by raising the profile of enterprise at a local, national and international level. The Awards provide a model for organisations to aspire to, boosting best practice and development on an individual and community scale.
Steve Hoyle, Director of the Pennine Lancashire No Limits initiative said: "Our starting point was that our area had low levels of business start-ups and a poor enterprise culture. The No Limits programme is all about removing barriers, encouraging ambition and creating role models in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
"Two years into the programme we now have over 800 ambassadors for the No Limits message within our target communities. We are delighted to have been chosen to represent the England's Northwest as part of the Enterprising Britain competition."
The national Enterprising Britain winner will be announced at an awards ceremony this October. The winner will then go forward to represent the UK in the European Enterprise Awards, which Scarborough went on to win earlier this year after winning the UK competition in 2008.
For more information about the Enterprising Britain competition and further details on how to enter, please visit www.makeyourmark.org.uk/enterprisingbritain
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