Derby and Derbyshire are planning a business festival this autumn to help kickstart the economy post-lockdown.
The Vision Derbyshire partnership – a group of nearly all the county’s district councils – has agreed to spend £43,000 hosting the post-Covid “festival of business”.
It will follow similar events already running in nearby cities such as Leicester and Coventry and according to DerbyshireLive would last a month and be led by the University of Derby sometime this autumn.
A report on the festival says: “The overall aim is to help enable the business community to bounce back from the challenges caused by the pandemic and Brexit.”
It aims to connect businesses and showcase what Derbyshire has to offer to future clients, customers and investors.
There would be a range of events such as a skills workshop, a potential “hackathon”, and a series of live masterclasses on improving businesses.
There would be a Derbyshire Business and Enterprise Awards ceremony and a three-day “business expo” hosted in Buxton, Chesterfield and Derby.
The business expo would be a means to “promote Derbyshire’s businesses to existing and future clients”.
The Vision Derbyshire group says the business festival in Leicester last year – which had to take place online due to lockdown – was a great success with 3,049 participants and 1,076 firms taking part.
It is hoped that at least 1,000 Derbyshire businesses and 2,000 attendees take part in its festival.
The £43,000 agreed investment of taxpayer money will be spent on creating a project manager role for six months (£18,000), marketing and promotional work (£15,000), brand management and a social media campaign (£5,000) and assessment of the festival’s impact (£5,000).
The report on the festival says: “Although currently, the festival is proposed as a one-off intervention to be held in autumn, 2021, it is considered that even in the short term, such a project could bring significant benefits to businesses, potential employees and a much-needed boost to the local economy.”
Andrew Marsh, head of employment and skills at Derbyshire County Council, said at a meeting on June 2, that some of the county’s best businesses are “well hidden”.
Coun Kevin Buttery, leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, said: “I think it is important we are seen to be helping businesses especially through these difficult times.
Coun Trevor Southerd, deputy leader of South Derbyshire District Council, said: “We in South Derbyshire have already worked alongside the Uni and it is important that we engage the young people.”
Coun Carol Hart, leader of Erewash Borough Council, said: “It is essential that we do something for business recovery and it is really important that it is for all of Derbyshire.”
