Vitality of Penrith Group

A new business centre has opened in the Devonshire Arcade, giving help and advice to people who are looking to create a new or expand their existing business into vacant premises in the town.

Eden Local Committee is a major funder of The Beacon Business Centre, which has also been paid for by contributions from Eden District Council.

The Business Centre is being run by Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency who will be helping with marketing the centre; arranging appointments with the business advisor provided by the agency and generally signposting people to assistance.

Penrith Job Centre has been very successful at helping people hit by the recession to find alternative employment. They have agreed to give their clients information about the new Business Centre in the hope that some clients will use their present circumstances as a launch pad for starting a new business.

Business Link is also supporting the initiative by providing a business advisor and support materials, including a free broadband link to the main Business Link website.

Councillor Bert Richardson, Chairman of the Eden Local Committee said: “The local county councillors have had a longstanding commitment to helping the people of Eden weather what has turned into a global economic storm. We earmarked a significant sum of money to assist and are delighted to be a major contributor to this work.”