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Mosques on stilts, rhubarbplantations, and time-shareprinting presses

Future opportunities and needsfor workspace in Burnley

December 2007


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CONTENTS

Foreword 2

Executive summary 3

Introduction 4

Workspace policy and practice 6

Current provision of workspace in Burnley 10

Research into workspace trends and local perceptions 11Statistical review of business start-up levels across East Lancashire

Existing research amongst target group of start-up SMEs

Discussions with various local agencies and bodies

Open consultation forums

Opportunities for future workspace developments 19

Responses from people originally consulted

Conclusion 21

Appendices 22

List of agencies and bodies interviewed


Statistical data on managed workspace in East Lancashire

Presentation slides used in group consultations

Full list of all responses from consultations

Bibliography


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FOREWORD

One of the key objectives of the Labour government has been to foster the

spirit of enterprise in a way that increases opportunities and prosperity forall people and enriches community life.

This can be done in many ways, but the most visible for any community isthe creation of physical buildings to offer a new and varied range ofworkspaces. Such structures can act as a focal point to better encourage

and support the creation and growth of enterprises in local areas that in turncan create local employment and local wealth. This can be done for finding new uses to oldbuildings, bringing the life back into a community or using land to build newer spaces tailored

to the needs of an area.

This project that Burnley Enterprise Trust is leading is therefore of immense interest in

seeking to identify what additional 'focal points' may still be needed in order to ensure thatBurnley offers the opportunities to its residents and communities that we wish it to.

Within Burnley, there are already a range of such buildings, but they are not as visible asperhaps we need them to be in order to harness their full potential in benefiting our town.

Those that we have, and are identified in this report, have come about through largelytraditional means a private developer spotting an opportunity, or our local authoritiesprioritising the need for them in response to wider needs in the local economy.

What has impressed me most about this venture is the way Burnley Enterprise haveapproached the question of whether more workspaces to support the creation of newenterprises are actually needed; in seeking to engage directly with all our local communities

in Burnley; existing businesses, residents, community groups and others. They have showntheir commitment to ensuring that they deliver what the people of Burnley want and inengaging directly to find out what Burnley needs, rather than simply deciding themselves

what is best for the town. The Government supports this approach of active engagement withthe community and I am sure that this project will be used as a pioneer in how similarobjectives can be delivered in the future.

I would like to wish Burnley Enterprise and this project every success and will be using theinfluence I have as the Member of Parliament for the area to ensure that the messages andrecommendations Burnley Enterprise put forward are taken into account and that the

investment the follows makes Burnley a better place to live.

Kitty Usher, MP Burnley

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As a local enterprise agency, Burnley Enterprise has identified a growing need

and concern with regard to the availability and appropriateness of various typesof workspace within Burnley.

Working through an external officer to ensure as high a degree of objectivity aspossible, discussions took place with a range of groups and bodies within thelocal authority, community, and others.

These discussions and other research explored not only the current provision ofworkspaces locally, but also considered how future facilities might be bestdeveloped in order to ensure that currently unmet needs, might be met in newand imaginative ways.

A review was also undertaken as to current trends within workspace, andpriorities and plans for the role of current and future workspace developmentswithin the local area. These showed that workspace and incubation exhibitcommon traits respectively, and that common support services are offeredaccording within each type of facility.However, incubation facilities increasing face a pressing concern of how thosebusinesses which establish themselves with their support can be best moved onowing to a struggle to identify appropriate premises to relocate to.The other striking characteristic between these two types of workspace facility isthat incubation facilities are usually developed through public sector investments,whereas more generic workspace is developed through the private sector.

Future models of workspace that might benefit Burnley that emerged through thiswork highlighted the potential role that faith communities could have, ways inwhich Burnleys largely rural areas can be better utilised, and provision withinworkspaces to be structured to include offering access to specialist machineryand equipment which would allow for new enterprises to emerge in currentlyunder-represented industries.This work also highlighted that knowledge of existing facilities and support is notas widespread or common as it might be in order to ensure that these resources

are made best use of to the benefit of Burnley.

It would also seem that currently there is no clear single agency or body whocould take sole responsibility for acting on the recommendations based on thesefindings in their entirety.

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INTRODUCTION

As a local enterprise agency supporting existing and new start businesses,

Burnley Enterprise seeks to maintain a level of awareness of the changing needsof its clients in order to best meet the needs of small, existing and emergingenterprises within the area.

In previous years, this had led to its developing a partnership with a local creditunion to create new sources of finance for local enterprises that would otherwisebe unable to access debt in order to either establish themselves or grow, and thelobbying of policy makers in order to ensure that legislation remains appropriateand conducive to encouraging and supporting enterprise in the area.

More recently, the agency has noticed that an area of concern for its clients that

is increasingly common is in relation to workspace and facilities from which to bebased and trade.This has led it to consider whether the existing provision of facilities in the townbest meets the needs of both the current and emerging business community.In order to best explore this issue, and identify what actions it may be able totake in addressing it, it successfully gained support from Awards for All toundertake an initial scoping and concept feasibility study. This support fromAwards for All ensured that Burnley Enterprise would be able to devoteresources to exclusively explore the question of workspace with a wide range ofother bodies, and was especially valuable as such exploratory work falls outsideof the remit of the services it is primarily funded and contracted to deliver.

The scope of this work was not to undertake a detailed feasibility study forestablishing a new workspace or business incubation facility, nor to audit theexisting provision of such provision within the town such research andinformation is either already available through the local authority or is beingplanned to take place in the near future.Instead it sought primarily to consult with various groups within the communityand agencies who have an interest in workspace provision to consider whatgaps may either exist or be emerging that suitably designed workspaceprovision might be best placed to meet in order to best meet the needs of local

residents.This focus was deliberately chosen as despite the range and scope of workspacedevelopments in the town to date, there had not before been any such opendiscussion with the wider community as to what they would prioritise or elect tosee developed, given the opportunity. As such, requests for meetings fromAdrian Ashton, the consultant appointed to deliver this work, and subsequentopen discussion forums were warmly welcomed and offered a wide range ofideas and issues that future workspace strategy might benefit from.

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As a pre-cursor to this study, Burnley Enterprise also explored approaching anumber of funding bodies to explore options for financing developments of newworkspaces which would include strong community elements.

However, this initial stage of work concluded that Burnley Enterprise in its currentstructure and form would not be ideally placed to be the sole lead body ondeveloping a new workspace facility within the town. It would therefore need toconsider that if it were to pursue such an initiative, how it best re-structure itself,or identify and collaborate with other agencies who might be better placed to actas the lead body.

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WORKSPACE POLICY AND PRACTICE

In considering the question of workspace as a means to offer more than just a

location for business to be based at, this study also sought to identify what therelative merits are for various models of managed workspace and incubationfacilities.

Research from the national body for business incubation facilities, the UKBI,highlights that a typical traditional business incubator can support the creation ofup to 30 new businesses and 167 full time equivalent jobs per year. In addition,some 98% of business housed by incubators survives against a comparison ofless than 50% for business not based with such facilities.As such, incubation, and by extension managed workspace, is an attractivestrategy for communities and areas seeking to better foster business start-up

rates and ensure sustainable job creation, especially as most tenants within anincubator will usually live within the immediate area.

This traditional model of incubation sees a facility which offers space and accessto facilities and support services appropriate to an enterprise at different stagesof its growth and early life. It also operates flexible tenancy agreements to enableentrepreneurs to more easily and appropriately trade and manage their cash flowposition through not being tied into long leases. However, such new businesseswill always be encouraged to move on within 2-3 years in order to continue tooffer opportunities for further new enterprises to be created.

Incubator development is usually led by public bodies and with funding fromregeneration or economic development programmes. As such, they are betterplaced to flexibly offer a high standard of support services through not having tobe concerned with principally servicing debt and are usually located in areaswhere there is below average levels of business formation or under-representation within specific industries and sectors (so that some incubators arefocussed around creative industries, high-tech or bio-tech).By contrast, traditional workspace for established businesses are usuallymanaged and developed by the private sector. These are more likely to haveless by means of support services, and rents and shared facilities (reception

desk, etc) are priced more in-line with the open market and so more expensivethan their incubation counterparts.

In various parts of the country, these models of incubation and managedworkspace have been used as the basis to achieve outcomes other than thosetraditionally ascribed to them. For example, in some areas incubation facilitieshave been developed as a means to address the problems created bydisaffected youth through offering them facilities and space within which they canexplore and develop ideas as a pre-cursor to either establishing their ownbusiness, or moving into employment in a related field. In other areas, they havebeen used to support local charities and communities increase their impact upon

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a community through offering shared space and facilities which enable them tomake better use of limited resources.

All of the above would seem to be in-line with current policy with regard to theprovision of incubation and workspace facilities:

National currently, the Department for Enterprise, Business Regulation &Reform holds only 1 active policy initiative with regard to workspace. This is inthe form of a development fund which is managed on its behalf by UKBI andseeks to identify and explore new models of incubation.

Regional The NWDA has identified some 25 key sites of strategic importancein ensuring the delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy. Although these do

not include any locations in or around Burnley, the Agency nonetheless acceptsthat this list is not exhaustive and that will consider the case for additional siteswhere new sites can be clearly evidenced as supporting economic growth withinthe region.

County-wide Lancashire County Council, through its economic developmentarm (LCDL), has identified a number of strategic priorities which include thedevelopment of incubators to encourage new business development.

Local The Economic Strategy for Burnley 2007-2017 states that as part of itsoverall vision for a Burnley that will become a place with a diverse and united

community, a modern economy, a healthy, safe and clean environment andquality services which work together for the good of the public, there needs to beprovision of affordable high quality workspace.This vision is further detailed as being sought to be achieved through thedevelopment of an infrastructure of sites and premises (some themed to specificindustries), with linked support services, available to entrepreneurs and whichare based around the redevelopment of existing buildings as well as theconstruction of new sites.

In practice, many sector and representative groups within the businesscommunity have voiced concern that the provision of incubators or managedworkspace should not simply follow a generic formula of creating space andservices, but rather that they need to recognise and address specific features ofdifferent groups within a community.For example, Prowess, the national body for female entrepreneurship argues thatwomen entrepreneurs need to be supported to take a more flexible approach todeveloping and managing businesses due to what are usually differentmotivations and lifestyles from their male counterparts. They have also found thatincubators are usually male-dominated with female entrepreneurs instead

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preferring to work from home to accommodate childcare arrangements andbecause they do not perceive that an incubator would offer them the benefits thatwould make them relocate to within them.

Also of concern is the increase of the sector specific incubator based on thetheory that having an entry policy that will only allow entrepreneurs access if theyare trading within a specific sector or industry will create clusters and so increaseopportunities for collaboration and new trading partnerships. However, somequestion if this actually artificially increases and concentrates levels of localcompetition and acts as a deterrent to the wider economic growth of an area.

There is also interest and some provision with regards to virtual incubators offering the range of benefits associated with incubation (access to sharedsupport services, corporate address, etc) but without an actual physical building.

This allows tenant enterprises to be based at home, or in other locations butwith the benefit of access to the services they would otherwise be able accessonly if they were physically within an incubator, and so increasing their prospectsof survival and growth as if they otherwise were.

The current make-up of workspace and provision would also seem to bear outthe models argued by policy makers as the following profile of the businessincubation sector illustrates:

Facilities Provided % of Schemes

meeting rooms and conference facilities 99general office equipment 94

catering/canteen facilities 76current generation broadband access 76

information centre 70

computing equipment 62

specialist equipment 38

Support Services Provided % of Schemes

networking opportunities 85business planning 84

secretarial support 74financial advice 68

mentoring service 66

business development 63

marketing advice 63

book-keeping 57management training 52

legal 26

Source: Business Incubation, renewal.net, 2002

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However, an area of increasing concern for the management teams of incubators

is around that of the move-on policy and practice. While in theory tenants canbe located for up to 3 years within an incubator, during which time they willestablish their business and grow it to a level whereby they need to expand intonew premises, in practice many get stuck. They become accustomed to thesupport services and benefits associated from being based within the incubator,placing the management teams in a difficult position should they force thetenant out, thus increasing its chance of subsequent failure through it not beingready to graduate but allowing new enterprises entry to the facility, or shouldthey let they remain, thus safeguarding that business contribution in terms ofGVA and employment, but stifling future growth in the local economy from newenterprises?

This is an issue of increasing concern for incubation nationally as more and morefacilities report that they are full, and waiting lists for entry become longer. Itsroot cause can perhaps be explained through incubators development beingprimarily led by public bodies, while more generic managed workspace isdeveloped by private investors. As such, their development is rarely formally co-ordinated to ensure that synergies are created that will benefit each.

The role of local authorities with regard to incubation and managed workspacealso supports the argued benefits that such facilities create within a given area the majority of authorities within England report having an involvement of somekind (ranging from fully funding their development and parts of the ongoing

revenue costs to part financing the development only) with them.

Given the range of benefits that incubation and managed workspace can offer,and the variety between different localities, it is not surprising that there are nostandard or typical models of incubation emerging each is unique to its localityand the specific priorities and needs that its lead developers have identified andagreed.

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CURRENT PROVISION OF WORKSPACE IN BURNLEY

In undertaking this study and development work, a review was undertaken of

current incubation and workspace facilities within Burnley.This was not meant to be an exhaustive audit of buildings and services, butrather a snap shot to be used as part of the consultations that subsequently tookplace. Indeed, for such an activity to be undertaken would be a clear duplicationof effort, as such monitoring and listing currently takes place on an ongoing basisthrough the local Authoritys Regeneration & Economic Development Unitsbusiness support team. This is made available freely to any business ororganisation who might wish to access it.

It was felt important to generate this overview picture of provision to ensure thatthe community and other agencies were fully aware of the range ofdevelopments already taking place to date, there has been virtually nopublic/open discussion or consultations with regard to each new facility, and eachhas been developed within the priorities and agenda of its lead developer.As such, it is commonplace for people and agencies to be unaware of whatprovision already exists, how it has been/is being developed and is intended tobenefit the local area.

This survey of workspace and incubation highlighted that alongside a number ofprivately owned workspace facilities that offer a serviced reception area andmeeting rooms, there are incubators for high-tech and other enterprises

emerging from amongst areas of the town deemed as being most deprived. Inaddition, there are also plans for a graduate enterprise facility that will create newopportunities for knowledge transfer partnerships, and a range of facilitiesmanaged within the community and charitable sector offering workspace, trainingfacilities and access to meeting rooms. Some of this provision from the charitablesector, in-line with the other developments led by the public and private sector,also operate with a particular focus for example, one facility is concerned withsupporting groups from within the BME community, and another, thoseexperiencing disability.

There is also a flagship initiative within the Weavers Triangle area of the town

planned to focus on encouraging the growth of the creative industries sectorthrough the provision of managed workspace, and which will be explicitly linkedto local schools and colleges and include residential dwellings.

The costs of these facilities vary greatly, with some centres charging 15 persquare foot plus service charges, while others are priced much lower, although insuch instances the quality of provision and additional services is correspondinglygreatly reduced.

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RESEARCH INTO WORKSPACE TRENDS AND LOCAL

PERCEPTIONS

In establishing how effective the local provision of incubation and managedworkspace is in order to best consider what might yet still be developed of valueto the local community a number of perspectives were explored. These were alsoused with the additional intent of informing ways in which any new facility couldbe developed for maximum benefit to all within Burnley

Briefly, these comprised a review of statistical data on business formation ratesin Burnley and the surrounding towns and cities in relation to the provision ofincubation and workspace, primary research from local enterprises as to theirperceptions and experiences of local provision, and a series of openconsultations with individuals and representatives from the wider community(local authorities, charities, residents, etc) who would otherwise not be able toeasily influence the development of future facilities.

Statistical review of business start-up levels across East Lancashire

In considering how appropriate and effective existing provision of workspace inBurnley is, an analysis was conducted on neighbouring areas as to the

quantities, values and impact on encouraging enterprise growth (measured bystart-up rate).

The purpose of this exercise was to identify any correlation that might existbetween either the value or extent of provision of space with the level of businessformation rates. Local populations were also measured to ascertain whether thismight also be impacting on business start-up rates (i.e. within largerconcentrations of population, it is often argued that more people will start-upbusinesses due to the concentration of services, infrastructure and otherservices).

The area looked at covered East Lancashire. The reason for this choice of scopewas two-fold:

1) to ensure that broadly similar cultural traits and economic history wereconsistent with Burnley in the areas it was being compared with

2) that the business support infrastructure within East Lancashire has begunto converge in recent years with a view to standardising the supportservices and infrastructure available to businesses and entrepreneurs in-line with overarching strategies and intent that whole of East Lancashirebeing to act, and be perceived, as a single economic and cultural centrerather than as a series of separate and disparate towns and cities.

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This initial analysis of sub-regional trends in business start-up rates across EastLancashire for the period 2001-5 and used economic data from LancashireCounty Council. It would seem to indicate no direct correlation to the availability,

size, number or value of business premises on the overall rate of new businessstart-ups.The findings show that although Blackburn is by far the largest population centre,numbers of workspaces and share of total workspace floor area in EastLancashire, it is actually Ribble Valley, who have the smallest population, leastnumber of workspaces and smallest share of total floor space who report thehighest levels of business formation rates as a percentage of their population.

Area Population (2001 census) no. workspaces avg. bus. starts 01-05 (per 10,000 people)

blackburn 137470 27% 856 34% 33.68 16%burnley 89542 17% 450 18% 30.86 14%

hyndburn 81496 16% 328 13% 29.78 14%

pendle 89248 17% 419 16% 30.02 14%

ribble valley 53960 10% 238 9% 51.38 24%

rossendale 65652 13% 260 10% 39.06 18%

This would seem to indicate that the mere existence of workspace is not

sufficient to successfully and effectively stimulate and grow the local businesspopulation. Other factors must also be considered, such as local cultural factors,support services and existing networks and relationships between businesses.

Within the scope of this initial study, it has not been possible to further identifyand explore these issues, but it would perhaps be prudent for subsequent studyto be undertaken to address this in order to ensure that Burnley, and EastLancashire as whole, might better increase its economic growth through theformation of new businesses.

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In considering the issues connected with the provision of workspace, attentionwas also given as to the needs of the primary users of such facilities new, andemerging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

To ensure that they were surveyed with a degree of objectivity and that thefindings could be used with certainty, samples of these groups were surveyedthrough 2 separate routes: a bi-annual survey from the economic developmentunit with Burnley Borough Council, and a bespoke survey of Burnley Enterprisesown clients.

The Burnley Business Survey undertaken by the Council in 2005 found that at

least 10% of local businesses experienced difficulty in identifying appropriatepremises to relocate to, and that in addition, a substantial proportion more did notconsider looking for local sites if they needed to relocate due to negativeperceptions about the local commercial property market.

Against these findings, Burnley Enterprise undertook a survey of its clients in2006 to explore their experiences of local workspace.With a response rate of over 10%, the findings of this were therefore felt torepresentative (surveys of this type usually generate a lower return). Thesefindings highlighted that at the time of being surveyed, 5% were actively seekingto relocate their premises due to a lack of security of tenure and lack of available

space. Extrapolated against the agencys client base, this indicates a figure of atleast 40 SMEs that are in need of move-on or more secure premises from whichto trade.Further, that the majority of these respondents showed no interest in any sitethey would look to relocate to having hot desks or formal meeting room facilities.This would seem to indicate that there is a significant proportion of SMEs whoare actively seeking dedicated premises only, with limited support facilitiesavailable to them on-site.

In total, this potentially indicates approximately 4001

existing local SMEs and

other businesses in Burnley need support in identifying appropriate premises atany given time.

Given that this figure does not take account of pre-start enterprises, it wouldseem to indicate that workspace provision in Burnley still has scope for furtherdevelopment.

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The additional 70+ figure is derived from an allocated 10% of Burnley Councils count of local

businesses (evidencable at 3,500). The actual total figure for the local business community which in

actually be much higher, but it was not possible to establish what this is an objective and auditable manner.

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Discussions with various local agencies and bodies

The third strand to the research in exploring the provision of current and futureworkspace was a series of individual meeting with key agencies and bodies, andstaged open forums in venues around Burnley.These subsequent forums sought to identify the perceptions, experiences andideas of various local residents, activists and other agencies that had otherwisenot been able to be contacted, but also to generate discussion between variousgroups as to how they might begin to identify and explore their common needsand aspirations with regard to workspace provision.

The outcomes of the individual discussions found a general consensus of sharedperception. This is encouraging as these discussions were staged with a widerange of bodies from different sectors and interest groups, yet all showed ashared a degree of commonality:

1) that the majority of current business sites are being offered on short-termleases due to the prospect of imminent developments which will mean thecommercial property market will rise in value. Landlords are thereforekeen to ensure that they maximise their incomes and revenues from suchincreases in the market value, and so are keen to limit the length of theirtenants residencies before they can instigate a rent review.

2) That historically, many new developments in Burnley have experienced aslow take-up of occupancy to reach their anticipated and target levels oftenancies.

3) Despite the growing supply of office accommodation, there would stillseem to be a need for small to medium sized spaces (1-50 employees),as well as graduation opportunities for growing businesses to easilyrelocate to larger sites in nearby locations and so reduce the disruptionand upheavals associated with large scale relocations.

4) Within the current workspace marketplace, the question was alsorepeatedly raised as to the need for flexible mid-range accommodationfor low-value businesses. Currently all new developments and

investments are focussed on high-value office facilities. With current sitesfor workshops, lock-ups and occasional offices being offered throughabsent landlords the quality and provision of this type of accommodationis low. Being able to generate such a provision would ensure professionaland appropriate facilities for a full range of business activity from high-tech to back-street.

5) There is a clear need for locations and sites being developed to be mindfulof existing business needs especially those business which are currentlyfragmented in operating across multiple sites. As such their efficiency andbenefits created for Burnley are limited.

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6) There is a growing base of evidence to indicate that the reality of localresidents aspiration and skills in establishing high-value businesses isdifferent in scale to that anticipated in various strategy and planning

documents. As such, there is a risk that the development of a number ofhigh-profile and high-value office-based facilities will act to deter and de-motivate local residents in being perceived as even more unattainablethan some present facilities if not carefully presented and managed aspart of a wider progression route.

7) Any new development should be designed so as to allow for naturalmeeting and networking spaces amongst tenants this in turn willgenerate partnerships, supply chain opportunities, etc that might otherwisebe lost.

In addition, some specific issues were also found. Although these were largelyraised by a minority of agencies and bodies interviewed, it is felt that they arecomplimentary to the concensual issues reported above:

1) Given the range of barriers that exist in deprived communities and wardsto residents gaining employment or establishing their own enterprises,there should there be a range of mini-developments that are linkedtogether in some way. Each such development would offer a specificfocus or target a specific themed group: those in receipt of incapacitybenefit; women; youth; etc. There is also the recognition that the existence

of such facilities and back-office services alone will not be of benefit theywill need to be offered pro-actively so as to generate interest and take-upas there is no obvious latent or current un-met demand for them.

2) Within the some of the larger areas being developed (principally theWeavers Triangle area), there are a number of vacant properties thatrequire substantial development. This potentially creates concern as theprivate sector investment to the area could create facilities which, althoughof a high value, are situated in areas where they are surrounded byvacant, run-down properties and so unattractive to potential tenants andfail to meet their aims.

Open consultation forums

Following these individual discussions, a series of open forums were stagedwhich sought to explore similar perceptions in a more structured format thatwould encourage agencies, businesses and local residents to collectivelyexplore, and share their experiences of, workspace and incubation.

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These took place in a variety of venues in order to ensure that as far as possibledifferent types of groups within Burnley would not face specific barriers toengaging with these forums. Different venues were therefore chosen to ensure

appropriate access and cultural association for all groups within Burnley.

Images from open consultation events staged

As with the individual interviews, these forums presented an overview of thecurrent and emerging provision of workspace, as well as examples of facilitiesfrom elsewhere where such sites had been used to address issues of social needand community benefit.Participants reflected on these issues as a group and identified collectively whatthey felt was appropriate and valuable within the current provision, what was still

needed and what, given an open chequebook might yet be developed.

A full listing of all the comments made is included in the appendices to thisreport, but briefly, there was consensus around the following:

Whats good?

- That investment is being made in redeveloping existing buildings acrossBurnley by the private and public sector, and not just in edge/out of townbusiness parks and industrial estates.

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- Also, that there already exists a wide range of size and types ofworkspace.

Whats missing?

- There is a lack of space for lifestyle and low-value businesses

- There is a general lack of knowledge of the support available to people inestablishing and growing new businesses

- That there needs to be specific support for thematic groups within thecommunity to establish new businesses (e.g. women), rather than just byindustry sector

- No clear or consistent mechanisms seem to exist to allow existingbusinesses to support younger enterprises (e.g. Guardian Angles inBlackburn)

Whats needed other than physical space?

- To ensure appropriate transport infrastructure that makes best use ofpublic bus services, as well as adequate car parking facilities around eachsite.

- A range of on-site support services including legal advice and access tofunding and investment; opportunities to network with other neighbouringtenant businesses; and access to shared equipment, the cost of acquiringwhich would otherwise be prohibitive for new businesses and so act as abarrier to them creating a new business.

- There was also the point raised in one session in relation to residentialspace being linked to workspace: historically Burnleys housing stock wasdeveloped around its primary industries so that people would be withinclose walking distance to their places of work. Given the distances thatpeople are increasingly travelling to their places or work, and theincreasing demand for greater flexibility within employment, thesuggestion was raised that this historical model is one whose time may becoming again through linking residential dwellings with workspace andincubation.

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Barriers to groups accessing workspace

- Availability of initial funds to create a new business and sustain it in its first

months of trading

- Lack of general knowledge of what facilities already exist and the benefitsthat they offer tenants

General comments

- Using social enterprise models could be advantageous in keeping benefitscreated local, and ensuring focus is maintained on supporting residentsand enterprises in most need locally it could also create opportunities to

utilise the involvement faith groups

- That Burnley is generally considered to be an urban area, and that themajority of sites are situated within its urban conurbations. In actuality,Burnley has a large proportion of rural space with a range of old andunder-used agricultural buildings. There therefore exists potential andopportunity to make use of these sites to further create new facilities tosupport people living in the rural areas of Burnley to create and developnew businesses.

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE WORKSPACE DEVELOPMENTS

In considering what opportunities managed workspace could offer Burnley in thefuture, common themes, needs and issues have been identified and consideredhow they might be best developed further. These have used to create an idealmodel incubator/workspace development:

A site of significant size that would offer a range of unit sizes to accommodatebusinesses as they grow; utilising an existing older property location that isunattractive to the private sector to re-develop due to the costs involved whichwould therefore necessitate a public sector investment as such, the focus ofthe site would not be on the generation of income from tenants, thus allowingspace to be let more favourably to low-value and lifestyle business; a range of

back-office support services which include access to specialist equipment on atime-share system; opportunities for spontaneous and planned networkingevents between resident tenants as well as showcasing opportunities for tenantbusinesses to exhibit to potential customers or investors; and easy links to publictransport infrastructure.

Such a site could also devote designated areas or clusters of units to thematicgroups such as women, or people experiencing a disability alternatively, mini-sites could be developed within specific areas of Burnley to further increaseaccess by such groups in recognising limitations that people within them mayface regarding childcare or transport.

In considering where such a site may be situated, many comments by thoseconsulted identified that roughly 60% of the Borough of Burnley is actually rural.As such, there are a number of under-utilised sites and older agriculturalbuildings that could be re-developed to offer the above described model. Thiswould also create natural opportunities for agricultural and horticulturalbusinesses to more easily be established and so a revival and strengthening ofthe local rural economy also affected.

The role of the faith community should also be considered increasingly faith

plays an important part in the lives of communities and the people within them.As such faith bodies have the potential to mobilise and focus people in innovativeways; in other countries, Muslim communities have developed workspacemodels which see an explicit co-development of sites: the initial development ofthe site is funded in entirety by the Mosque, and spaces created within,alongside, and even underneath, for business to be based. This allows for anincome stream which subsequently maintains the overall site and allows the faithbody to maintain and further develop its role within the community.

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For Burnley Enterprise to be involved in leading the development of any suchnew sites, it would need to form close partnerships and alliances with a publicbody who would act as the landlord; it would then develop and manage the site

under an agreement to allow it to retain a proportion of income generated as wellas having a future option to purchase the site at current prices. This surpluswould then be used to fund the on-site support services it could offer to tenantenterprises.

However, it may be that one of the other planned developments that are beinginitiated and led by other bodies can make use of these recommendations inenhancing their plans to increase its value to local residents and groups withinthe wider community.

But whatever actions are progressed, it is strongly recommended that greater co-ordination take place between all the management teams of the variousworkspaces in Burnley to address the following issues:

1) to ensure wider appropriate knowledge of available sites, facilities, supportand move on space amongst enterprises, groups and support agencies

2) to create new synergies that will allow tenants to benefit from increasedaccess to support they are currently unaware of, or are otherwise unableto access

3) to increase the profile and impact of workspace in Burnley through greatersupport to local and new enterprises

Responses from people originally consulted

In ensuring that this consultation and identification of opportunities forworkspace, those individual agencies and bodies who were initially interviewedas part of the research methodology were re-visited with the above findings andrecommendations.

This was for a number of reasons:1) to test the validity of the findings

2) to allow individuals to reconsider their views in light of the wider context ofothers experiences and perspectives

3) to identify where individuals might now be able to identify specificopportunities and roles they could play in current and future developmentsof workspace

For those individuals who responded to the opportunity to comment of thefindings and draft of this report, there was agreement that it reflected an accuratepicture of their input, the consultations and that the findings and consultationswere agreed with.

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CONCLUSION

The initial purpose of this piece of research was to explore what opportunitiesmight exist for various workspaces to benefit Burnley in ways that they currentlyare not.

It has shown that workspace in various forms (including incubation) are used in avariety of ways and settings, but that all share common aims of encouragingbusiness growth and therefore benefiting local areas.

It has also identified that the current provision in Burnley, while varied andextensive is poorly perceived and not well understood, thus limiting the impactthat they have.

Through a series of consultations via individual interviews, group consultationsand statistical research and analysis, common issues and opportunities forworkspace were identified, but to successfully address them to create newbenefits for Burnley will potentially require new approaches to how such facilitiesare developed.

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APPENDICES

Appendix: list of bodies and agencies interviewed (excluding thoserepresented and involved in open community consultation events)

Social Inclusion and Employment Network (SIEN)Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale CVSBurnley Borough CouncilJinnah Community Development TrustBurnley Enterprise TrustLancashire County Developments LtdBusiness in the Community

Lloyds TSBBurnley Neighbourhood ManagementBurney and Pendle Community AllianceBurnley Football ClubManchester Metropolitan UniversityUniversity of Central LancashireKitty Usher, MP

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Appendix: Burnley Enterprise research into its clients experiences andneeds with regard to property in 2006:

Property Research Questionnaire

300 people mailed

28 responded

13 people would consider changing premises

of which

7 rent5 own

1 unspecified

of which when asked if premises were too big / small9 too small3 OK

1 unspecified

of which when asked if they would base themselves in Padiham3 yes

6 maybe4 no (main reason: work based in Burnley / too far from home base)

when asked what would encourage them to move to new premises:

facilities appropriateness (4) price - free rental period / town centre with reasonable rent (6)

in terms of space and facilities the following were listed as important office space (2-6 staff)

rooms for meetings / training / coaching consultancy equipment - phone, broadband, fax, storage

features accessible, parking, kitchen and toilet

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Appendix: Statistical data on managed workspace in East Lancashire inrelation to population and business formation rate.

Source: Lancashire County Council website

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Appendix: Workspace for business in Burnley- is there what we need?

Invitation to consultation event and results

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Appendix: Responses from all community consultation events staged:

Burnley Enterprise Consultation Event JINNAH 18th

July 2007

Views on work space in Burnley

Whats good?

Accessible Wide spread across Burnley Realised something needs to be done, this needs to continue and develop

more BAP Schools enterprise project?

Whats missing?

Lack of space for lifestyle based business e.g car repairs etc. Need more workshop space practical space units for building,

construction type business Community farm practical work which can come off Needs to be more awareness of what there is available Where is it advertised? Where/who do you go to start a business? Not knowing where the support is More support for women into business Promotion f social enterprise Promote good examples of social enterprise

o Is it the Councils responsibility?o BAP?o PEER project

Massive opportunity new business how to dispose of waste supportnew business and look at doing it in a different way

Benefit to the local economy Elevate

What should be available as well as space?

Experience:o Sharingo Mentoringo Success stories breeds successo PEER projecto Inspiration to others

Networking support Information on finance people are not aware of start up money which is available Encourage Schools to achieve Business Enterprise status

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Other Benefits/Opportunities

Private sector supporting social enterprise/new businesses Multi use buildings Balancing use private & social People too busy doing the work time limitations Development trust model Social enterprise model e.g Mosque/shops Lack of awareness of all models Property development Renewable energy company benefit to the community

General comments

How affordable are these premises/units etc.? How do we make these activities more profitable so we can use these

facilities? How can we all this be done in a sustainable way?

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Burnley Enterprise Consultation Event Lancashire Digital technologyCentre25th July - Focus Group 1

Views on workspace in Burnley

Whats good?

Being here today People wanting to set up business there is a demand Vibrant entrepreneurial spirit spirit exists is this taken forward? Northbridge House & Lodge House provide flexible sized space Other people are looking at provision which highlights a public need

Who?

Positive attitude to investment in Town Future/current developments Transport links

What missing?

Information marketing what we have Small flexible workspace for industrial use Diverse space/culturally appropriate How do we know about it? Need for space with flexibility Experimental space looking for innovation Low or no cost space Home based business outreach provision Differentiation to meet needs of clients Rural provision in appropriate venues Localised wealth management Deprived areas keep money in those areas Debt management credit unions Diverse trading zones celebrate diversity/culture Lack of support grants etc. No opportunity for large business to support small business Blackburn

Guardian Angels Parking/bus routes Modern town centre office space we have a high proportion of 1

st flooroutdated office space

Managed workspace with support/office services/on site training provision No networking options

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What should be made available other than space?

Parking/bus routes

On site support finance, legal etc. Incorporated leisure space Other local facilities close by Network/forum for support from similar companies could be online Encourage synergy between unit holders Aspirational coaches Community enterprise support Flexibility Transfer of assets or services to communities Serviced units for office type provision Training/mentoring/support on site

Catering facilities Market square Childcare Website Residential space Conference facilities Need a supported environment

Are there any things which wouldnt be appropriate?

Outside experts Not taking advantage of the skills we have in Burnley Lack of support for individuals who are losing funding No long term thinking Losing knowledge & skills to other areas because of the lack of

support/opportunity in Burnley Statutory sector has to provide support

Are there any things which would be appropriate?

Good will & trust Direct link with BAP Working in partnership Sustainability Should Elevate be providing space? Residential space provided with workspace

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General Comments:

There is a fear factor when starting a business

Need to manage peoples expectations Low self esteem/aspirations in some communities Lack of opportunity for young people Pool the knowledge - innovative people who we are losing due to lack of

support & funding from the Council no grant funding for start ups Council need to devolve some of its services to create community based

social enterprises e.g. street cleaning

Burnley Enterprise Consultation Event Lancashire Digital technology

Centre25th July - Focus Group 2

Views on workspace in Burnley

Whats good?

Weavers Triangle old building/atmosphere good base for the HIVE Regeneration of old buildings make use of them, think of access for

disabled Old buildings are adaptable

Whats missing?

Affordable space low value/low spec Workspace for crafts Support from other business Mixed use space, work units, galleries etc. Place to socialise/network within workspace Shared workshop/facilities specialist e.g. woodwork would help with

cost of equipment Possibility of co-operative to buy equipment/tools Start up costs put people off starting on their own

What should be made available other than space?

Cheap equipment hire Parking free/cheap Better road network into Burnley Pleasant surroundings Networking opportunities/support Share equipment/workspace

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General Comments:

Social enterprise model pitfalls trying to maintain a community focus &

social focus Having a social model without going too commercial, problems with

commercial taking over the social side Old buildings communities taking ownership & giving life to the building

Barriers:

Availability of funds Policy & procedures social enterprise v benefits Benefits people not willing to give them up - understandably

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Appendix: Bibliography

Burnley 2006 The Real Story, Burnley Action Partnership

Burnley Business Survey 2005, Burnley Borough Council

Burnleys Future - Burnleys Economic Strategy 2007-17, Burnley BoroughCouncil

Burnley Property Register, Burnley Borough Council

Burnley Snapshot 2005 facts and figures at a glance, Burnley Borough Council

Business Incubation, renewal.net

Commercial and Industrial Floor space 2006 report, Lancashire County Council

Development Trusts in 2006, Development Trusts Association

Learning from experience the BURA guide to achieving effective and lastingregeneration, BURA, 2002

Making community buildings work for people an action research study into the

sustainability of community buildings, Civic Trust, 2005

Managed Workspace and Business Incubators A Good Practice Guide forLocal Authorities, Local Government Association, 2000

Neighbourhood Management in Burnley: our changing neighbourhoods, BurnleyBorough Council / Burnley Action Partnership, 2005

Strategic Regional Sites annual monitoring report, 2005, NWDA

The National Business Incubation Framework, UK Business Incubation, 2004

Women-friendly incubation environments and managed workspace, Prowess /UKBI, 2005

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Printed by:Red Room Media

272 Colne Road, Burnley,Lancashire, BB10 1DZ

Phone 01282 454345 Email [email protected]

Burnley Enterprise Trust LtdA company limited by guarantee Registered in England No. 2231684;

Registered Office: Lancashire Digital Technology Centre, Bancroft Road,Burnley BB10 2TP

Phone 01282 872350 Fax 01282 87235

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