No Limits to enterprise in Pennine Lancashire PDF Print E-mail
 

As a key partner in the ‘No Limits' programme Blackburn Rovers has played an active role in helping Pennine Lancashire beat off stiff competition from across the region to be named the most enterprising place in England's Northwest in the Government's ‘Enterprising Britain' competition.

Enterprising Britain 2009 is a nationwide competition run by Enterprise Insight on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations.

Now in its fifth year, the competition celebrates and rewards the most enterprising areas in the UK; those places of enterprise excellence that have helped transform the social and economic fortunes of their area.

The judges were impressed with the innovative approach to enterprise taken by ‘No Limits', using ways to engage young people from Pennine Lancashire.  As the flagship ‘No Limits' project a number of enterprise havens have been developed in the area, including the Blackburn Rovers Enterprise Centre in the Darwen End Stand at Ewood Park (see http://www.brfcec.co.uk/).  The havens are part of a £30m programme to regenerate the Pennine Lancashire economy through supporting new and growing businesses, creating up to 13,000 jobs and 4,000 new businesses over the next decade.

The Enterprising Britain Awards continue to strengthen the enterprise culture in the UK, by raising the profile of enterprise at a local, national and international level. The Awards provide a model for organisations to aspire to, boosting best practice and development on an individual and community scale.

Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Economic Development at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) said:

"There's no doubt that No Limits wowed the judges, who this year had an immensely difficult decision to decide on a winner.

"The Enterprising Britain Awards continue to strengthen the enterprise culture in the UK, by raising the profile of enterprise at a local, national and international level. The Awards provide a model for organisations to aspire to, boosting best practice and development on an individual and community scale.

Steve Hoyle, Director of the Pennine Lancashire No Limits initiative said:

"Our starting point was that our area had low levels of business start-ups and a poor enterprise culture. The No Limits programme is all about removing barriers, encouraging ambition and creating role models in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.

"Two years into the programme we now have 750 ambassadors for the No Limits message within our target communities. We are delighted to have been chosen to represent the England's Northwest as part of the Enterprising Britain competition."

Earlier this year the NWDA, together with partners opened up the regional competition to find its most enterprising place, with the hope that they will be named overall winner in the national Enterprising Britain 2009 final this October.

During June and July No Limits will be given the chance to prove that they are worthy of the Enterprising Britain 2009 national winner's title when they are visited by members of a high profile national judging panel. The Enterprising Britain 2009 winner will go on to represent the UK at the European Enterprise Awards later in the year.

For more information on ‘No Limits' visit the website at http://www.no-limits.org.uk/.  Detail about the Enterprising Britain competition can be found at http://www.enterprisingbritain.org/.

 
The CommunityMark PDF Print E-mail

The CommunityMark is a new national standard awarded by Business in the Community which recognises companies that are the best investors in their communities.

The CommunityMark is given on the basis of independent evaluations of management processes as well as impacts on the community and the company.  In the words of Stephen Howard, Chief Executive of Business in the Community "The CommunityMark is the highest achievement for companies that are able to demonstrate the long term positive impact that they are having in their communities".

Blackburn Rovers is delighted to be among the first 21 pioneering businesses nationally to have achieved the CommunityMark in recognition of the active role played within the community and the investment made in this very important area of our work. Here we are pleased to share how we evaluate the difference we feel our main projects are making to the community and to the business; the way in which our employees contribute to the community, and our community commitments for the next three years.

Further information on the standard may be found on the Business in the Community website at http://www.bitc.org.uk/.

 
Community Club of the Year Award PDF Print E-mail

Less than a year after its formation Blackburn Rovers Community Trust proudly accepted the Community Club of the Year ‘Highly Commended' acolade at the star-studded inaugural North West Football Awards (NWFA) in Manchester earlier this week.

Football heroes from across the country attended the exclusive event, which, as well as recognising football heroes past and present from North West Clubs across the leagues, also recognised the people behind the scenes and the clubs' commitment to their local areas through delivery of positive community messages using the power of football.

Judge, Gordon Taylor said: "It was great to see the North West's footballing community come out in force to celebrate the region's success both on the pitch and behind the scenes, as well as raising a huge amount of money for a fantastic local charity".

Gill Kinloch, Head of Community Affairs and a Director of Blackburn Rovers Community Trust said "For the Trust to receive this award in such a short space of time really is a fantastic achievement. The range of health, education and social inclusion programmes delivered in the name of Blackburn Rovers continues to grow and for the quality of our delivery to be recognised and acknowledged in this way is true testament to the committed effort of all members of staff."

 
[ Back ]
Copyright 2010 Blackburn Rovers Community Trust.