Kingsway Lodge Business Centre and the Ashfield Business Centre provide state of the art, modern and affordable office space in an area which despite seeing a large growth in large commercial developments, was lacking appropriate start up space for fledgling businesses.

That was the key finding from the recent research commissioned by Ashfield District Council titled ‘A feasibility study of Neighbourhood Workspace’. The solution was to renovate existing sites to provide business incubation space to fill the gap in the property ladder.

Business incubation is a unique and highly flexible concept designed to nurture and grow new and small businesses by supporting them through the early stages of development and change. Incubation centres provide office space together with professional business support and advice to help nurture young businesses. This can provide them with the first step to growing their business and help them survive during the early development stages.

The research identified that the lack of business start up accommodation is having an impact on the future regeneration of the district. Whereas Ashfield is experiencing a considerable growth in commercial property development, including the massive new Castlewood Business Park at Junction 28 of the M1, the type of space being brought forward is not accessible to many emerging SMEs, largely due to the size of the space and price.

Brian Harvey, IPI Solutions Ltd one of the first businesses to occupy newly renovated incubation unit Kingsway Lodge commented:

“The incubation centre has allowed our business to expand rapidly without putting undue financial pressure on us. Our unit is very modern, professionally fitted out and is equipped with office furniture including PC’s, Printers, Internet access etc. As part of the package we also get access to an invaluable business advice service.”

Richard Harris IPI Solutions Ltd using a PC at Kingsway Lodge Business Centre.

The redevelopment of these two centres has been made possible thanks to the Alliance SSP and the successful £7.2 million Local enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) bid for Ashfield, Mansfield and Bolsover called the ‘Alliance for Enterprise’. The LEGI programme was designed to encourage and support the growth and development of both new and established businesses with the aim of improving the overall economy and raising the level of enterprise in the area, which dedicated incubation units with help to achieve.

Nottingham Business Venture (NBV) advisers confirmed the research findings by reporting back to the Alliance for Enterprise that there was a lack of small business office space / incubator space. NBV is also working closely with the District Council in providing ongoing in-house support to the start up businesses within the centres.

Andrew Smith, head of economic Promotion and Regeneration at Ashfield District Council commented:

“The aim is to produce a network of affordable IT enabled modern incubation centres across Ashfield as part of a wider strategy to regenerate the area. These centres will be well supported by a variety of business support providers depending on each individual or business need. We did our research and know there is a demand for this type of accommodation. We now only need the businesses to contact us and we will do the rest.”