A REFRESHED approach to building a prosperous borough has been backed by businesses in the area.

Wigan Council has unveiled its new ‘Deal for Business’ – a voluntary agreement between the authority and firms which signifies a shared commitment to supporting local economic growth.

Originally launched in 2015, the deal has been refreshed with the local Business Consortium co-designing the new enhanced offer.

Cllr David Molyneux, leader of the council, said: “As part of the borough’s community wealth building ambitions, we began working closely with the Business Consortium to understand their needs and priorities as part of the borough’s recovery plan and how we can all work together to support our economy.

“The refresh was a result of that partnership work and encourages collaboration, identifies local supply chain opportunities, and the important contribution local businesses have to making our borough a great place to live and work. We’re proud to be launching something that’s been a true joint effort.”

The scheme is based on an informal agreement in which the council and local businesses each have pledges to support each other and work together to create an economy which is successful and sustainable.

Businesses who are already signed up to the deal, and helped to design it, have praised its support and values.

Caeryn Collins, of school uniform and workwear supplier Impressions, whose stores include one in Golborne, said: “Our values are really closely aligned to those with the criteria set out in the new Deal for Business.

"For instance, we’re an ethical company, we support our staff and local communities, we buy and support other local businesses, and since we’ve adopted that set of values our turnover has increased significantly."

Caeryn Collins, of Impressions (still from Wigan Council video)

Caeryn Collins, of Impressions (still from Wigan Council video)

A number of new features are included in the offer including a mentoring service and an online directory which will allow businesses to search for others that have the same values, opening opportunities to connect, source and collaborate with local suppliers.

The council is inviting more local businesses to join the consortium.

Steven Tomlinson, founder of Leigh-based Nemiah, a computer software company and Leigh Works, a coworking space built for start-ups, said: “We signed up a while ago and it’s worked really well for us. For us it was about making connections, finding out what’s available in terms of help and support. We’ve referred several new businesses who all found it useful and we used a grant secured through the Deal for Business to get our workshop started."

Steven Tomlinson, of Leigh Workd (still from Wigan Council video)

Steven Tomlinson, of Leigh Workd (still from Wigan Council video)

New gold, silver and bronze membership levels will be awarded to each business and members will receive a toolkit of graphics they can use to share good news stories, shout about their achievements and connect to each other online.