COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENTERPRISE AND TOURISM SPC
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
HEADED ITEM NO.
HEADED ITEM: E. Development, Enterprise and Tourism
Business Support Grant - meetings with local businesses.
REPLY:
As the members will be aware with respect to the additional funding from the BSG, as agreed, they will be used to target industrial vacancy/underutilisation and obsolescence and to promote innovation and enterprise, on a percentage breakdown of -
- 60%- infrastructural upgrading works to be of a capital nature.
- 30%- innovation, startup advice and supports including potential incubation space
- 10%- targeted training, to be identified by targeted surveys and delivered through LEO
Following the above programme structure progress has been made across a range of measures:
- Survey and plan for contacting local business regarding training currently initiated during April 2015 – focussing on 150-200 businesses of varying sizes across the county, carrying out an in depth survey and analysis of training needs and opportunities for the county. Results will be available in early June 2015.
- Contacts are currently being made through the Sustainable Business Executive with local business owners in industrial estates to establish and run a number of workshops on improving our industrial estates.
- Direct engagement has been established and is ongoing with a group of industrial occupiers within the Cookstown Industrial estate and the JFK industrial estate with a view to establishing a programme of upgrades which will support economic development. A number of meetings have been held directly with the Cookstown Industrail estate group, latest Thursday 30th of April last. Progress is being made in co-ordinating a joint programme of upgrades to upgrade the Old Belgard Road entrance to Cookstown and to improve the permeability with the Cookstown LUAS station.
- Work is ongoing to prepare a further schedule of upgrade works in conjunction with operations departments and with a view to structuring local workshops with business owners.