Telephone: 01453 828829 - Stroud District Council

The Stroud Branch forms part of the FSB ‘ Bristol and
Gloucestershire Region’ and, through this, co-operates
with all of the other local authorities, Business Link and
public sector organisations within this geographical area.
It is also a key consultation body for Gloucestershire First,
the South West Regional Development Agency and other
bodies on county and regional economic matters.
Business Link Gloucestershire
Business Link Gloucestershire offers a range of
information, advice and networking opportunities to all
types of business in the county – especially to new and
small companies. Services include advice on generic
business planning, sales and marketing, quality, international
trade, people development and new technologies, and
are either free or available at affordable rates. Advisors
can also offer specialist advice to important sectors for
Gloucestershire including farming, tourism and manufacturing.
Businesses can access direct local, regional and national
information from Business Link Gloucestershire. Business
Link also offers frequent opportunities for business
networking in a number of venues across the county.
Recent events have covered:
• Family businesses
• International trade
• Workforce development
Business Link Gloucestershire is one of a network of
Business Links that operate throughout England. It has a
staff of 54 and a turnover of £5m per year. Its head
office is located at Chargrove House, Shurdington,
near Cheltenham.
Gloucestershire First
Gloucestershire First is a countywide economic
partnership established to maintain a sustainable
environment in which businesses can flourish and grow.
The organisation offers a free and confidential service to
companies and organisations seeking to relocate within
the County, or intending Gloucestershire to be their new
business location.
Gloucestershire First works in partnership with the
following inward investment agencies:
• South West Regional Development Agency –
responsible for providing regional strategic leadership
in economic development and for co-ordinating
national programmes in the region. It provides land
and property advice to inward investors, manages
the Agency’s property portfolio and markets the
region overseas.
• Invest UK – is the only government agency covering
the whole of the UK. It helps overseas companies to
set up businesses in the UK, or expand their interests,
as effectively as possible through the government
consular network.
• Trade Partners UK – government business portal,
which holds information to help UK companies export
or expand their interests overseas.
It is important to note that Gloucestershire First provides
the first point of contact for all enquires about available
land and property within the county.
Stroud District Local Strategic Partnership -
Creating Wealth Syndicate
As part of central Government’s modernisation agenda,
every local authority has a duty to produce a Community
Strategy in which the social, economic and environmental
well-being of the area is promoted. The Stroud District
Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) is the organisaton, which
has been established to promote this agenda.
The LSP consists of representatives from the public,
private, voluntary and community sectors, who have the
right diversity and mix of local knowledge and expertise,
to drive the strategy forward and take practical action. In
terms of organisational structure, there are three
syndicate or work groups, which feed in to the overall LSP
organisation. These are namley:
• Affordable and decent housing
• Rural transport
• Creating wealth
The Creating Wealth Syndicate is concerned with the
economic, business, skills and enterprise issues across the
district. Members of the syndicate are drawn from a wide
range of backgrounds and include business support
organisations, public sector organisations and private
sector interests. The Syndicate also has strong links with
the Stroud and District Business Club.
Business link, Gloucestershire Public/Private partnerships Gloucestershire First
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