Camberley named the UK’s Top Town for Business 2022
Camberley town centre has been named as the UK’s top town for doing business.
Camberley was voted for by the public from a shortlist of 12 as part of a national initiative from Enterprise Nation, the UK’s leading small business network and business support provider and in partnership with Dell Technologies and Intel.
The initiative’s goal was to shine a spotlight on UK towns that supported entrepreneurs through the pandemic and beyond – and Camberley’s approach stood out.
Camberley has been recognised for its outstanding support for entrepreneurial spirit which has made a lasting impact on the local community and economy. The town boasts excellent internet coverage and its Pop-Up Shop Project, run by Surrey Heath Borough Council, along with its delivery partners, supports short-term tenants to try out opportunities in the town centre, which currently supports multiple businesses, such as Designer Exchange, Willow & Nutmeg and Squish.
Various business support programmes have been put in place for Camberley’s businesses by Surrey Heath Borough Council and the Business Improvement District, Collectively Camberley. These include grant programmes, shop front improvement scheme, a varied and exciting event programme, free training, newsletters, networking opportunities and business awards which recognise and reward top performing businesses.
Councillor Colin Dougan, Deputy Leader and Lead for Economic Development, Surrey Heath Borough Council said;
“We are delighted that Camberley has won the UK’s ‘Best Town For Business’ Award, and we thank all of Camberley’s supporters for voting. We are very proud of how resilient our town has been over the course of the COVID pandemic, not only maintaining the majority of businesses, but also seeing the opening of new and diverse range of commercial enterprises, including cafes, a unique co-working space and independent boutiques.
“This award follows on from a record ‘yes’ vote for our Business Improvement District Collectively Camberley in 2021 and further celebrates Camberley’s commitment to its businesses and creating exciting, entertaining experiences for its visitors.
We look towards the future of Camberley very positively and aim to continue to keep developing, improving and supporting the town to reflect the needs of the businesses, residents and visitors.”
Jodie MacAndrew, Collectively Camberley Business Improvement District Manager said;
“For Camberley to win this award is a testament to the strength of the town and the extensive efforts and successful results that collectively, our businesses and partners achieve.
“As an established BID, our main focus is business support and everything that encompasses that objective. We work extremely closely with our town centre businesses in order to make Camberley a place where people want to visit, live and do business.
“Our business community itself is full of new start-ups, independents and nationals, all bringing their own unique and localised identity to the town. We offer something for everyone and are excited to see what the future holds.
“I am very proud to work with and for Camberley businesses and believe the town to be fully deserving of this accolade.”
Find out more about Collectively Camberley here https://www.collectivelycamberley.co.uk
Emma Jones, CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, said: “We felt it was important to look at places that were not on the usual radar.
“For this competition, the motivation was to find the places that were succeeding in sometimes difficult circumstances and try to understand more about what contributes to that success.
“We looked not only at the small business community, we looked at local amenities such as access to co-working spaces, short-term leases such as retail spaces and good connectivity as well a good local leadership from councils.
“Camberley stood out from the crowd.”
Camberley was the overall UK winner, and the top town in England. Kirkcudbright was named the top town in Scotland, Monmouth in Wales and Derry/Londonderry Northern Ireland.
The initiative aims to shine a spotlight on the UK’s towns and cities that successfully nurture entrepreneurial spirit in order to make a lasting impact on local communities and the economy.