New tenants for Strawberry Fields Digital Hub
New tenants are being welcomed to Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, Chorley’s high-tech business centre.
The £8.4 million Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and managed by Chorley Council, opened its doors in Autumn 2019 offering a range of fixed office space, flexible hot desks and meeting rooms.
Incoming tenants to the site will join the already thriving business community, with companies such as Ultimaker, Brick Technology and Institute of British Sign Language.
Desk space available for all sectors at state-of-the-art digital hub
Strawberry Fields Digital Hub in Chorley is now offering its state-of-the-art desk space facilities to all business sectors to support businesses and entrepreneurs through COVID-19.
The £8.4 million Hub, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, opened in October 2019 providing the opportunity for start-ups and SMEs in the digital and creative sectors to work alongside each other in an innovative, supporting and vibrant environment.
Now the doors are open to all sectors in a move which will bring accommodation and location options to businesses which may have been struggling with the impacts of the coronavirus.
A hive of activity and business networking at Chorley’s digital hub.
Businesses at the Strawberry Fields Digital Hub are enjoying being part of the digital and creative community at the high-tech business centre with a series of networking events.
During the latest networking event held last week, businesses at the hub were given the opportunity to find out more about their office neighbours and fellow digital and creative organisations.
The event held at the digital hub included presentations showcasing the support available to Lancashire’s digital businesses and also from Bees Country Kitchen who are setting up a food delivery service for the hub. A networking event with the Strawberry Fields Digital Hub digital community followed, with some delicious treats provided by Bees Country Kitchen.
Make friends with your future – a digital careers event
An exciting new careers fair for those interested in the digital sector will be held at Chorley’s high-tech business centre.
Taking place at Strawberry Fields Digital Hub on 27 February, the digital careers fair will include a number of businesses within the digital sector who will be exhibiting the opportunities on offer.
The event will be open to the public between 4.30pm – 7pm, welcoming school, college or university leavers seeking their first job in the digital sector or adults looking to move or progress in their digital career.
The event will offer the opportunity to meet real employers with real vacancies, training providers, colleges and universities, as well as seeing how Strawberry Fields Digital Hub can enhance future working. It will help explain the pathway to new prospects in the digital sector and showcase the opportunities that exist not just in digital businesses but also with the NHS, public sector and others.
Those exhibiting at the event offer web design solutions, software, IT Services, 3D printing, to name but a few. There’ll also be representatives from health organisations, universities and adult learning organisations with interactive demo’s and lots of insider advice and guidance.
For more information, please follow @SFDigitalHub on Twitter
Strawberry Fields Digital Hub launches business start-up competition
Chorley’s hi-tech business centre, Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, has launched a competition to win everything required to start and take a digital or creative business to the next level.
This outstanding prize package includes; a hot-desk and business telephone package at Strawberry Fields Digital Hub for 12 months, business support through Digital Creative, half day marketing consultancy session to help develop a brand and marketing strategy, networking group membership and much more.
“This is a perfect opportunity for someone who has previously lacked the resource and support needed to get their business idea off the ground. The prize could turn a great idea into reality for the winner who will join other ambitious businesses based at Strawberry Fields Digital Hub.” Said Cllr Alistair Bradley, Leader of Chorley Council.
Strawberry Fields welcomes first tenants (23 October)
The digital hub is now open and is welcomed its first tenants this week. These businesses are the first to benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities, superfast internet connectivity and onsite business and university advisers at Strawberry Fields.
The digital hub is the kind of development usually only ever seen in city regions, so we are excited to be able to offer this kind of space in Chorley, helping put Chorley on the map as the centre of the growing digital sector in Lancashire.
The 40,000sq ft office space includes features such as hot desks, micro pods, flexible desks and traditional office suites. There are also meeting and training rooms as well as workshop facilities, a networking zone and free breakout areas.
The hub also has free parking, 24 hour access and onsite security.
When most of the tenants have moved in, an official opening will be arranged where residents will be able to tour the facilities.
Work to complete the new junction linking Strawberry Fields to Euxton Lane is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks.
If you’re interested in having an office space or access to other facilities at Strawberry Fields, please get in touch to arrange a visit of the premises; we would be happy to show you around. To arrange the visit, email Emma Meichan at emma.meichan@chorley.gov.uk or call 01257 221500.
Internal fit-out picking up pace (13 August)
After months of plannings procurement, we have finally started to have the furniture delivered for the digital hub. The first phase commenced on 7 August with the goal of being fitted out by the end of the week.
The work includes furnishing the modern video/web conference rooms and kitchen spaces. The clean and modernist look is a delight to look at!
Take a look at some of the pictures of the work that took place last week:
Digital expert joins team at Strawberry Fields (9 July)
As we look forward to the opening of the Strawberry Fields Digital Hub we welcome a new face to the team that will help the businesses based there develop their digital skills.
We took some time to have a chat with University Advisor Gill Millington and talk through the plans for the state-of-the-art building, off Euxton lane.
Gill has a wealth of experience in the digital sector and was an early adopter of social, website building and SEO (search engine optimisation).
“There are a lot of social media experts around now and people who will tell you what to do and what not to do but I learnt the hard way, if you like, by testing things out and seeing what worked and what didn’t work because the knowledge wasn’t around back then,” explained Gill.
“Having run my own business and built well over a hundred websites I can use all that insight to benefit businesses and give them a return on investment.
“There is so much information available to businesses through analytics it’s critical that they make the most of this and measure all their marketing activity so they are working as effectively as they can.”
Gill, who lives just a mile from the new development, will work with us one day per week with the rest of her time spent supporting businesses through Boost Lancashire.
She is excited about the offices opening and says it is a real coup for Chorley to have a facility like this.
“It’s going to bring some kudos to Chorley as it’s quite a big thing to have something like this based outside of the city regions,” said Gill.
“It will bring people into Chorley, not just getting businesses here, it will also attract people into Chorley, which is fantastic for the place.
“We’re seeing lots of interest in the space and it’s about getting the right mix of businesses and ensuring they are all digitally-focussed.
“It will be a site that people from all over Lancashire can utilise and it’d be nice to get some of the manufacturing businesses, particularly those based in the east of the county, coming to use the facilities.”
The digital hub will open its doors in the summer and Gill will be the person to make the links between the businesses and the universities and match people together that will benefit from sharing knowledge.
“I will see the project a success when we get everyone in and people are co-working, pushing business between each other,” said Gill.
“That would see web designers, working with graphic designers, sharing that work with SEO specialists and then co-working with a company doing apps, that type of thing.
“It’s an opportunity for businesses to appear bigger than they are because they can co-work with other businesses.”
Interior Complete (16 May)
Strawberry Fields is almost ready for opening! With the interior contractors finished up, all that’s left is to kit out the communal areas and then office spaces according to the specifications of the tenants. We are very happy to showcase the finished interior with some new photographs as well as some amazing drone shots highlighting the beauty of the location in which the digital hub has been built. Click here to view the gallery.
Digital Lancashire drop in for tour (3 May)
As Strawberry Fields moves ever-closer to opening we had a visit earlier this week from the board of Digital Lancashire.
It’s fair to say Jeremy Coates (Magma Digital), Tom Stables (3manfactory) & Liz Hardwick (DigiEnable) were suitably impressed by what they saw after being shown round the facilities by Chorley Council’s Senior Business Engagement Officer (Digital), Phil Owen.