Artists, designers and website gurus will be able to give their business more "byte" thanks to a £4.9m investment in creative and digital industries in the D2N2 area.
D2N2 – the private sector-led partnership which promotes economic and jobs growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – wants to help local companies in the creative and digital industries (CDI) sector to expand and attract new customers.
A new programme – the Creative and Digital Industries D2N2 Consortium for increased SME Competitiveness – starts in January and is due to last three years.
CDI is one of D2N2’s chosen eight key sectors.
A £2.4m investment will come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) portion of D2N2’s larger €250m in European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) - EU funding to be spent by 2020 on projects which help SMEs to be more competitive and expand their operations.
The other half of the £4.9m total funding will come from programme partners.
It will be led by Nottingham City Council in partnership with a consortium which includes the city’s Creative Quarter company, New Art Exchange, Nottingham Trent University, Broadway Cinema in Nottinghamshire, Derby QUAD, Derby Theatre and the University of Derby.
The programme will offer services to businesses across the D2N2 area under the brand name of ‘The Big House’.
Many of the programme’s services will be offered online.
It is estimated that around 500 CDI-sector businesses will be helped over the project’s three years.
The Big House project also received £500,000 from Arts Council England in February and will additionally attract private sector backing.
Peter Richardson, Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We have a growing creative and digital industries sector, often in need of sound business advice on how to expand. D2N2’s new programme aims to address their needs.
“Our £2.4m investment in this initiative and the wide range of partners we are engaging, across both of our counties, show the LEP’s commitment to this key sector.”
Commenting on The Big House project Cllr Nick McDonald – Portfolio Holder for Business, Growth and Transport at Nottingham City Council – said: “Nottingham City Council is the accountable body for The Big House programme because we value the contribution of the creative and digital industries to job creation, wealth generation and the reputation of the city.
“This programme has come about through the collaboration of a wide range of partners, working to simplify the access points for SMEs and businesses. It is fantastic news that such a diverse range of support will be available to this sector, and we know this will further fuel the growth of this priority sector across the city and the region.”
Councillor Diana Meale, Chair of Economic Development Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Through the ongoing Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire and Digital Derbyshire programmes, we’re putting digital infrastructure in place which is among the best in the UK. But if the area is going to drive home the full economic benefits of having better broadband, we need to support businesses to explore and introduce new and emerging ICT products and services.
“The D2N2 Digital Growth programme, which we are proud to be delivering in partnership with East Midlands Chamber, gives businesses new commercial opportunities to boost their competitiveness and productivity – helping to drive economic growth across the D2N2 area.”
The CDI programme will complement the £4.8m the D2N2 LEP has already put into two major county council-run schemes – Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire and Digital Derbyshire – which are expanding access to faster broadband internet services to domestic and business properties, particularly in more isolated areas.
For more information on the Big House project contact Steph Robertson, Communications and Media Manager at Nottingham’s Creative Quarter, on 0115 710 0107 or at steph@creativequarter.com.