Picture the scene. You have a great idea for a business, but the bank refuses to loan you the finance you need to start up. What do you do now? At this point many people give up but now an alternative source of finance has made it possible for Hastings and St Leonards residents to borrow funds and get business advice.
Hastings Regeneration Partnership is keen to tap into the entrepreneurial potential in Hastings and spread prosperity throughout our community. It therefore supports Capitalise Business Support, a community development finance institution (CDFI).
CDFIs, often known as a lender of last resort, are vehicles for delivering social investment. They supply capital and business support to people that have been refused these services by conventional financiers like banks and building societies. Typically, borrowers who have no business track record, or have a poor personal credit history are considered a risk by traditional lenders, which means that many budding business people never get their ideas off the ground. Sean Dennis, Capitalise Director, says that many of his clients are people the banks would have helped a few years ago, but the introduction of credit scoring, along with a change in banking focus, mean that many people are now excluded
The Capitalise scheme was started last year by Ten Sixty Six Enterprise, our local enterprise agency and Chamber of Commerce. It offers loans to business start ups, existing small and medium businesses, and social enterprises. Crucially, business mentoring support is available during the term of the loan. It is widely recognised that businesses which seek advice and support are more likely to survive.
The Capitalise team offers support through the loan application process, helps clients to refine their business plans, recommends training and provides ongoing support to help businesses can develop and grow.
Since April 2004, Capitalise has helped local people to establish 47 new businesses, sustain 10 existing businesses and create 54 new jobs. The new businesses are diverse, with activities ranging from bouncy castle hire, candle-making, recording studio services, marine maintenance and trades like plumbing and building. What’s your business idea?
If you need a business loan but have been turned down by traditional lenders, or would just like to talk through your business idea, contact Mike Trotter, Loans Manager on 0845 6018326 or at info@capitalise.org. You can visit the Capitalise website at www.capitalise.org
The first draft of the regeneration framework for Central St Leonards was discussed by Hastings Borough Council last month. The proposals have been on display at the neighbourhood office in Silchester Road and a summary published in ‘The Warrior’, the newsletter of the Gensing and Central St Leonards forum.
This work has been funded by Hastings Regeneration Partnership and contains three elements, a sustainable communities programme, a town centre upgrade and the greening of St Leonards.
We all know that educational opportunities in Hastings are greater than ever, particularly since the opening of University Centre Hastings. Even so, some people have personal circumstances which make it very difficult to attend formal college courses. Obstacles to learning that people encounter include lack of childcare facilities, limited mobility, travel costs and sometimes just a plain old lack of confidence.
The Horizons Community Learning project enables everyone to make the most of his or her potential. It offer courses to people who live in Ore Valley, Hollington, Four Courts, Wishing Tree, Tilekiln or Robsack areas and in Castle and Central St Leonards wards, often taking the learning facilities to local residents. Since 2003 they have also been based in a community flat in Churchill Court, Hollington, where an enormous range of courses are offered, some using laptops funded by Hastings Regeneration Partnership.
In addition to learning facilities, the flat also contains a free crèche with places for up to nine children. This enables those with childcare responsibilities to attend courses in their local area.
HRP joined a creative writing group for a session recently, keen to meet people involved in community learning. There, a group of eight, of all ages and abilities, learn to develop their writing skills and express themselves in poetry and prose. However, it soon became clear that the course offers much more to its participants.
Such a small group encourages a supportive environment, and the support the group offers each other extends beyond writing skills. Experience and knowledge of all kinds are shared, participants help each other to learn, confidence grows and friendships are made.
Senior citizen, Pat Ripley of Hollington, took up the creative writing course after a friend told her about it. She said that what the group had learned had given them confidence to move forward. Pat wanted to present her written work professionally and is now learning to use a laptop computer to achieve this.
Horizons offers courses which include basic maths and spelling, ways into childcare, computing, art, media and science. Some are GCSE courses and others offer access to university.
Nan McCubbin, who tutors this course, is firmly committed to the concept of teaching in this way. “We work with people, rather than courses. We aim to be flexible and uncover what people really want to learn.”
The project is in the process of recruiting a support worker, who will help students overcome any difficulties they may encounter through mentoring and advice.
If you’d like to find out more learning with Horizons please contact Sonia Plato on 01424 204136 or email on s.p.plato@sussex.ac.uk
More help with jargon-busting
A CDFI is a sustainable organisation created to tackle financial exclusion and encourage entrepreneurship by making finance available to people who cannot access loans or credit from banks or building societies, usually to achieve explicitly social objectives in a disadvantaged area.
Any earned-income business or strategy undertaken by a not for profit organisation for the purpose of generating revenue in support of its social mission. Social enterprises usually aim to seek new and innovative solutions to social problems.
Community learning is about people of all ages, and from all sections of the community, coming together to share experience, learn from each other and develop their skills, knowledge and confidence.
Places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. This requires economic viability and provision of high quality services to support a good standard of life for all residents.
Hastings Regeneration Partnership brings together the voluntary, public and private sectors to spend £26 million Single Regeneration Budget money provided through South East England Development Agency. With matched funding, the 100 local projects pull in a total of £128 million for social, economic and physical regeneration.
The Partnership can be contacted on 01424 451781.
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This page last updated: 21/12/2005