S. West initiatives to fill void created by impending retrenchment of Business Link (October 2011)

Westcountry organisations gear up to fill the Business Link ‘vacuum’.

The impending retrenchment of the Business Link service to a national website and call centre is prompting Westcountry economic development agencies to take on local advisory services themselves.

North Devon + has been the first to announce that it will be taking on mentoring services that were previously offered by Business Link.

Commercial director Robin Makeig-Jones said the organisation started to develop a mentoring scheme prior to the announcement about the demise of Business Link's local network. "People up here were dissatisfied with the way it was going, therefore, they wanted something more targeted to local conditions," he said.

"The website is very good and we applaud it but a lot of businesses want face-to-face contact either with mentors or advisors."

North Devon + is using European funding, including the Rural Payment Programme to support the services.

The Torbay Development Agency is also considering taking on the delivery of more business support services.

Alan Denby, the TDA's director of economic strategy and performance, said it was thinking about adding to the mentoring and business workshops it already offered.

"We see a definite need for it," he said. "Assuming we can make the finances work we will be looking to have an in house advisor that can meet with businesses.

"We're quite concerned about the removal of the face-to-face support. It's going to limit the ability of businesses to become aware of what services exist from the public sector."

Mr Denby said it was important that there was consistent approach to business support across each Local Enterprise Partnership area – regardless of which organisation was providing the services.

A website and national call centre will replace a network of Business Link offices from next month after the Government said the £154 million cost of the network was "high" and the "generalist nature" of the advice often "poorly targeted" towards "lifestyle businesses that have no aspiration to grow".

Other Westcountry business initiatives are poised to fill the gap that will be left by the scaling back of Business Link. Professor Julian Beer, pro vice chancellor at Plymouth University, said the university's Growth Acceleration and Investment Network would also look to fill the "vacuum".

"The old order has been dismantled. It's time we all stepped in to help ourselves and each other in terms of providing the right environment for innovation and growth," he said.

North Devon + is appealing for mentors to get in touch by emailing info@northdevonplus.co.uk.