Anglia Ruskin University: Peterborough can get creative with new funding
Businesses in the creative sector in Peterborough and the surrounding region can benefit from support and advice as well as access to investor networks thanks to a successful bid for Government funding led by a consortium of organisations including ARU Peterborough.
Peterborough will receive a share of £1.275million in grant funding for business support through the Create Growth Programme, designed to create more jobs across the country in creative industries and drive economic growth.
Creative businesses will also be able to draw from a fund of up to £7million delivered by Innovate UK to provide financial support and connect creative companies with national investors.
ARU Peterborough is part of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership consortium alongside Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, University of East Anglia, University of Suffolk and Norwich University of the Arts.
The package for the region will consist of bespoke business support and mentoring for high-growth creative businesses. The area will also benefit from investor engagement through pitching events and investor outreach.
Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough, said:
“The creative sector plays a significant role in the East of England’s economy, and we’re delighted that we will be assisting local film, television, and gaming companies with business support as part of the Government’s Create Growth Programme.
“The delivery of industry-linked short courses is already one of ARU Peterborough’s key strengths. In addition to leveraging our games industry expertise, through our BSc Mobile Game Design and Development course, the Create Growth Programme will see our business and law academics provide expert advice to local creative businesses through a range of seminars and roundtable discussions, in addition to one-to-one support and mentoring.”
Paul Bristow, MP for Peterborough, said:
“ARU Peterborough is open and has been starting to change the life chances of so many young people in our city. Our new university makes me so proud of Peterborough – and that’s why I’m so pleased they’ve been announced as a provider for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Create Growth Programme.
“With the funding awarded under this programme ARU Peterborough is going to provide local businesses in the creative industries, including regional TV and film companies, with legal and business information and support through classes and seminars. ARU Peterborough is going from strength to strength, and this is yet another way they are going to transform opportunity in Peterborough and help our city reach its potential.”
Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of Peterborough City Council, added:
“This is fantastic news and will be welcomed by businesses in our city. Peterborough has one of the largest number of start-up businesses in the whole country – many of which are in the creative sectors.
“We look forward to working with ARU Peterborough, Opportunity Peterborough and the Combined Authority to make sure this funding makes a difference to business owners in the creative sector in our city.”
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said:
“Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is home to innovative, world-class, creative companies. From publishing to architecture, and digital to museums and galleries, our creative industries are growing.
“This is a game changing package of support for the industry in our region, which recognises the importance of creativity, arts and culture in our society. And this is another example of the wider benefits which ARU Peterborough is bringing to the region already. The Combined Authority will work with ARU and the City Council to ensure we make the most of this great opportunity.
“The university is about delivering the skills which open up opportunity and support the needs of employers, but it is also a focal point for attracting more investment and initiatives to our region, which will benefit people and the economy. This great news is a prime example of that and is very encouraging given the university has only just opened. We’re still only at the beginning of the transformative impact ARU Peterborough will have on the city.”