EASTLEIGH – “A HAVEN OF HOPEFUL ENDEAVOUR”

 

Eastleigh’s efforts to support small businesses in the borough have been highlighted by leading financial journal – The Economist.

 

Wessex House, in Eastleigh town centre is owned and managed by Eastleigh Borough Council.  It provides office accommodation and support services on flexible terms to over 70 small firms and is part of the Council’s policy to encourage entrepreneur and small business growth.

 

Tenants of Wessex House include employment and care agencies, IT companies, retail and distribution companies, environmental and marine companies, financial and professional advisors.

 

The article praised the resourcefulness of small businesses in Eastleigh which it described as “growing in the teeth of recession.”  Small businesses are encouraged by the Council’s Economic Development Unit.  This also provides a range of different grants and initiatives for small and start up business plus networking and a training programme called Southern Entrepreneurs.

 

The Economist article also highlighted the changes that Eastleigh has endured.  This has seen the town adapting from its traditional heavy engineering and manufacturing base in the 1980s and reinventing itself as a town with a diverse and developing small business culture.