Partnership Building Success in Barking & Dagenham
14 December 2007
The successful partnership between the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Barking & Dagenham Enterprise (BDE) and other local organisations is beginning to transform the borough’s business base.
This was the theme of an address delivered by BDE’s chairman, Chris Oliver to representatives of business organisations from throughout the country when they visited the borough last week (on 12 December) to see the pioneering work being done to promote regeneration through encouraging and developing an enterprise culture.
Mr Oliver said:
“This is a journey of transformation and that unstoppable journey has well and truly begun. This borough means business. We have all the ingredients. We have the space, we have the land, we have the labour pool, we have the transport links, new road links, underground, fast over-rail links, and we have the infrastructure.
The BDE chairman continued:
That in itself is not enough, what we have here that is different is the vital ingredient – we have ambition. Ambition to change, ambition to be the best, ambition for the future ambition to be at the heart of east London and the wider Thames Gateway.
We are building a brand, a culture, a set of behaviours and attitudes and an organisation that says this borough, its partners and BDE together means business.”
Mr Oliver, accompanied by BDE’s executive director, Judy Chapman, played host to a 20-strong party from the National Business Broker Network organised by Business in the Community. The party also received presentations at the Barking Learning Centre from Barking & Dagenham Small Business Centre and from Lifeline, two BDE partner organisations supported by BDE which spearheads the borough’s enterprise drive through the management of more than 30 enterprise-related projects.
The Small Business Centre provides business training, advice and finance to people seeking to establish a new business or expand an existing one. Lifeline encourages local residents to acquire news skills and training.
Both organisations receive funding through the Government’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) via BDE. Barking & Dagenham was one of the first ten local authorities nationally to be awarded funds through this programme and was the only Thames Gateway borough to be successful.
During their visit, the group learned about the two new Enterprise Centres planned for the borough, and the visitors saw the redevelopment under way at Linton Road and Dagenham Heathway. They were also introduced to students on a bursary scheme, visited the City Learning Centre at Robert Clack School and received a presentation on the pioneering on-line community Enterprise Radio which is co-sponsored by BDE.