Business hubs set to be built across county
A £5M investment programme will see new business units being built across Bridgend county.
The Enterprise Hubs Development Project comes after concerns were raised over the lack of units available to startup businesses and fears that firms could be leaving the county as a result.
According to a Bridgend council report, the number of enterprises in Bridgend is increasing at a quicker rate than the whole of Wales, with a 10% increase from 2010 to 2015.
But the demand has created a situation where there are no business premises available for rent in the county borough for small companies.
As a result, there are waiting lists for all the start-up units run by Bridgend council, Business in Focus and the Sony centre in Pencoed.
The new multi-million pound investment programme will result in the creation of 1,800sq m of new business units at Brocastle, the development of three new light industrial blocks at the Village Farm Industrial Estate in Pyle and the refurbishment of the Innovation Centre at Bridgend Science Park.
In total, it will provide space for 58 small to medium enterprises and support about 145 jobs.
Backing the investment at a Bridgend County Borough Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, April 24, cabinet member for regeneration Charles Smith said: “This represents the largest single programme of business property development ever undertaken by Bridgend council. This is definitely filling a gap and it’s a major step forward for Bridgend.”
Council officers are now entering the final stage of negotiations with Welsh Government in relation to a funding package which includes grants from the European Regional Development Fund.
On Wednesday, April 25, councillors in Bridgend approved the borrowing of £880,000 for the scheme.
Council leader Huw David said: “It’s fantastic news. I’m very confident that it’s an investment that will pay off for the council and the county borough – anyone visiting the hub at Sony will know how vibrant that is with its businesses developing in markets like IT and games.”
There are more than 3,500 registered enterprises in the county borough with 87% of these companies being self-employed and micro-enterprises (companies with fewer than nine employees).