BD 12/07 - 10 December 2007

Working in partnership with the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and as part of the Government’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI), Barking & Dagenham Small Business Centre (BDSBC) has now been appointed to manage a shopfront improvement scheme for retailers in Dagenham Heathway complimenting the new Streetscene refurbishments currently underway.

“We’re really pleased to be able to distribute grants of up to £8000 per shop to retailers in Dagenham Heathway” says Mark Kass, Project Director for the Barking & Dagenham Small Business Centre in Longbridge Road. “These grants will help business owners improve their working environments and enhance their customer experiences and the proposed new shopfronts will be the “icing on the cake” to the shopping facilities being developed in the Heathway”.

“ Grants can be used for new shopfronts, windows, security shutters, signs, awning and disabled access”, say Mark “and to be eligible for a grant under the scheme, total projects must be worth more than £2000 + vat and tenants must have more than 1 year left to run on their leases. To apply, all traders need to produce are two quotations from contractors of their choice, submit an application form to BDSBC and a local authority planning application where appropriate and we then appoint an independent Chartered Surveyor to oversee the works”.

As a private, not-for-profit organisation, BDSBC acts as the interface between the Council, the Contractor and the Trader, ensuring that the bureaucracy typically required is kept to a minimum and Mark is confident that the process is a simple one. “By acting as the Project Manager, we cut red-tape to a minimum. Once we’ve received the quotations from the traders, we do the running around to ensure that traders, especially this time of year, can focus on their core businesses…making money and keeping their customers happy!”.

The staff at the Centre are keen to talk to anyone considering self employment or looking for business information, advice, training and all services are free. Contact BDSBC for more information on: 020 8911 3737; e-mail: bdsbc@bdsbc.org; or visit www.bdsbc.org

Barking & Dagenham Small Business Centre is supported by Barking & Dagenham Enterprises and the Barking & Dagenham Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI).