Member Article

Stockton business is ‘buzzing’ reports suggest

Stockton Council is creating the right conditions for business growth, according to new statistics.

Two new reports have singled out the Teesside authority for praise, as a top performer for determining major planning applications and revealed a Borough-wide increase in business start-ups.

Meanwhile, the town centre Enterprise Arcade continues to provide new businesses with a springboard to success and the area is seeing a rapidly emerging cluster of digital technology businesses.

The Borough of Stockton has also been identified in the national survey as one of the top ten per cent of places to do business, with an outstanding environment and business infrastructure as well as a strong skill base and sound economic performance.

Cllr Michael Smith, Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, said: “Stockton business really is buzzing - we’re delighted that a range of research and statistics are showing that Stockton Council is helping to create the right conditions for growth.”

Stockton Council has been identified as one of the top performing local authorities in the country for determining major planning applications.

In a national table, based on the analysis of the Department for Communications and Local Government planning application statistics, Stockton Council is third of all local authority areas in the country with 87.4% of all major planning applications being determined within a 13-week period.

Cllr Smith added: “At Stockton, we’re committed to supporting business growth and job creation and major planning applications often relate to business development and investment.

“The fact that we are supporting business growth through determining major planning applications quickly - following the proper processes - is a real demonstration of why Stockton is home to a growing number of national and international businesses.”

Stockton Borough is also experiencing its highest-ever number of company start-ups.

Research shows that a total of 211 companies were registered in Stockton during the first quarter of 2013 (January to March), an increase of six per cent, which compared well to the UK as a whole, which saw an increase of two-and-a-half per cent against the same period last year.

Cllr Smith said: “Stockton has a great reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship - and we’re delighted to celebrate the increase of new companies throughout the Borough.”

Meanwhile, the report by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, commissioned by Google, also shows that Middlesbrough and Stockton have the highest concentration of technology based businesses in the North East, supporting more growth and jobs than many other areas of the UK.

Approximately 1,260 companies in the area are making use of and relying on technology to run their businesses - the highest proportion in the region.

Stockton Council’s Enterprise Arcade, which gives new retailers and businesses a chance to test their ideas in a low-cost environment, is also bursting with entrepreneurs waiting to use the premises to showcase their new business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .