Small business bulletin for Lancashire and Cumbria

Local News 30 Oct 2024

Local small business news the North West of England. Updates cover Lancashire, Cumbria, Blackpool, Blackburn, Preston, Carlise, Cumberland, Lake District, Westmorland and Furness.

In summary

October has been a buzz of networking and meetings across Lancashire and Cumbria.

Kicking off with Women in Business in Lancaster and Amanda Daniels Allen presenting. Then on to the HSBC & FSB networking in Carlisle, with a great talk on cybercrime from HSBC. Then straight into the Shout Northwest Expo' in Bolton. Then enjoyed a spooky pumpkin celebration with Helmshore’s Pumpkin Trail.

Featured news and events

New legal duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into effect on Sat 26 Oct. This law places a new duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. The new legislation also sets out that tribunals will have the power to increase compensation by up to 25 per cent if they find an employer has breached this duty. According to Acas, 14 per cent of employers and 6 per cent of employees said they had witnessed sexual harassment in their workplace. FSB members have access to employment law advice from FSB Legal.

Find out more here>

Blackpool Developments

Blackpool Council is seeking talks with the developer behind a £300m leisure project in the town after it emerged the business has posted a Notice of Intention to appoint administrators. Manchester based Nikal has been working with the council to deliver Blackpool Central – described as the largest single investment in the town for more than a century. The Notice of Intention (NOI) to appoint an administrator was filed by the business on October 16. Commenting on that news, the council has stressed it has a “clear commitment” to deliver the major regeneration project and is considering its next steps to progress the development. Blackpool Central has been described as a year-round world-class leisure destination and is planned for a site just off the resort’s famous Golden Mile. The project aims to create up to 1,000 jobs, bring an estimated 600,000 additional visitors each year, and boost annual spend in the resort by £75m.

Read more here>

Lancashire and Cumbria Virtual Networking - 20 Nov

Hosted by FSB Members providing you with a warm welcome. Join this friendly session and feel part of the local business community within Lancashire & Cumbria. Guest Host this month is FSB Member Natalie Barker, Business Owner at M&M Business Support. Natalie has a passion for helping busy business owners and leaders achieve more, by maximising their time. Over 16 years of practical experience working in different industries and across multiple departments. As a multi-tasking queen, and her extensive experience has equipped her with the ability to handle various tasks skillfully.

Book your place now >

In other news

Women in Business - Lancashire & Cumbria Event Details

Brought to you by FSB members, established to empower women entrepreneurs, this group engages in conversations about crucial topics that impact women in business. Within this dynamic environment, we adopt a proactive and solution-oriented approach to finding strategies for overcoming these challenges and offering mutual support.

Find out more here> 

Cumbria Accelerator Business Support

The Cumbria Accelerator project delivers FREE support sessions to Cumbrian businesses of any size, working in any sector. Are you looking to reduce your costs or make more sales? Are you thinking about launching new products or services? Or are you considering new ways to market what you do? The Cumbria Accelerator project can help with all these areas. For more information please email Lucy Johnson.

Still in the news

Shout Connect - Lancashire Day

You are all welcome to join Janet Doolan and the team at Growth Lancashire to honour our special county’s day. As a valued partner we’d love you to joins us to celebrate Lancashire Day on the morning of Wed 27 Nov in Preston. This year we are focusing on celebrating Lancashire’s business support eco-system, that’s you guys. There will be a twist to the usual Boost Discovery session with breakfast, a quiz about all things Lancashire, the reading of the Proclamation and raising of the Lancashire flag.

Find out more here>


More news and activity near you 


Get in touch

Katy Smythe - FSB Development Manager Lancashire & Cumbria

Your FSB Development Manager for Lancashire and Cumbria is Katy Smythe. If you'd like more information about the topics above, or if you have news about this area that you'd like to share, please get in touch.