Image by Kai Tatsu under creative commons license

Brentwood Business Strategy for 2020 – 2025

Brentwood Borough Council have just released their corporate strategy for the next five years. I have pulled out the strategy as it relates to the support of business growth over this period.

Brentwood currently has a population of 76,550. There are 4,390 business enterprises within the borough and the borough provides employment for 35,000 people.

The strategy as it relates to business is split into three areas:

1. The promotion of Brentwood as a place to set up and do business from.
2. Enabling growth of the town’s existing businesses.
3. To encourage the creation of new enterprises and inward investment.

The details within those core areas are as follows.

Promote Brentwood as a place to set up and do business from

• Develop a culture that recognises the importance of economic development in everything that we do
• Create planning policies that help us maintain a healthy mix of residential, commercial and quality public realm in town and village centres
• Encourage additional retail, leisure and residential growth to maintain thriving high streets
• Deliver a mixed-use development at William Hunter Way to complement the High Street
• Through the Brentwood Business Partnership, encourage local traders to play an active role in shaping their retail areas
• Continue to develop the Discover Brentwood website as a key tool for highlighting opportunities for businesses and visitors

Enable the growth of existing businesses

• Deliver a range of business support initiatives including but not limited to the Brentwood Business Showcase, workshops and advice sessions
• Work with partner organisations to support local businesses with advice and funding opportunities
• Identify and address skills gaps by working in partnership with businesses, schools and training providers
• Support the roll out and take up of new technologies, such as superfast broadband and 5G

Encourage the creation of new enterprises and inward investment

• Enable the borough to be an innovation hub, open for businesses that have an ambition to deliver new initiatives and a green agenda
• Work with the Brentwood Development Partnership to redevelop council assets to deliver commercial space, including grow-on and flexible office facilities
• Work with developers of new employment sites, such as Brentwood Enterprise Park and Dunton Hills Garden Village, to ensure a mixed economic base is delivered
• Support and promote major infrastructure improvements
• Support business engagement and consultation when planning for development in our town and village centres

The future is looking bright for businesses currently based in Brentwood and those looking for a place to start their new venture.

The full Corporate Strategy 2020-2025 document can be found here.