Scotland's Most Enterprising Place Put To The Test

SCOTLAND'S MOST ENTERPRISING PLACE PUT TO THE TEST

Date: Monday 30th June

Claire Dove, Enterprising Britain 2008 judge, is visiting Heart of Hawick on Monday 30th June to decide whether it will be crowned the most enterprising place in Britain.

Heart of Hawick was selected as Scotland's
most enterprising place in the Scottish heat of the competition and is
facing the representative of the national judging panel in the hope of
being named Britain's most enterprising area.

The national winner will be announced in an awards ceremony to be held in September.  They will then go forward to represent the UK in the European Enterprise Awards later this year.

A
culture-led regeneration project, Heart of Hawick aims to increase
footfall and vibrancy by engaging with the community; harnessing the
entrepreneurial flair and drive of the private sector; developing the
ancestral tourism market; removing town centre dereliction; and
providing a range of services to encourage ambition and aspiration for
young people.

Future
plans are ambitious and challenging: they include further town centre
development works; the refurbishment of Drumlanrig's Tower Visitor
Centre; and the installation of a statue funded principally by the
Turnbull Clan Association to act as a draw to the 800,000 Turnbulls
worldwide.

Claire Dove, who currently heads up Blackburn House, one of Merseyside's original and most successful social enterprises, said:  "We have seen outstanding bids from all across the UK - places that have turned around the prospects of local people, communities and economies through enterprise.  It is fantastic to see at first hand the places which make Britain such a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity."

The competition is run annually by Make Your Mark campaign on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform in partnership with the Regional Development
Agencies and Devolved Administrations, to celebrate enterprise
activities and reward entrepreneurial success.

Councillor
Graham Garvie, Scottish Borders Council's Executive Member for Culture,
Sport and Community Learning, said: "Heart of Hawick demonstrates how
regeneration can have a direct, tangible economic impact for the
Scottish Borders, and Scotland, as a whole.  Winning
the Scottish heat of Enterprising Britain 2008 is an outstanding
endorsement of the achievements to date and a welcome boost to the town
and to civic pride."

For further information : Liz Smith

0141 423 4373  email: [email protected]

Heart of Hawick is a multi-award winning culture-led regeneration project.  Previous
awards include the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum 2007 Awards for
best practice in urban regeneration in the category of Place; winner of
the Edinburgh Architectural Association 2008 Award for Regeneration and
Conservation; and joint winner in the Regeneration Category of the
Scottish Design Awards 2008.

Heart
of Hawick is a partnership, principally funded by Scottish Borders
Council, the European Regional Development Fund and the Heritage
Lottery Fund.

Enterprising Britain is a nationwide competition that celebrates and recognizes enterprise achievement throughout all the regions of the UK.  For more information, please visit www.enterprisingbritain.org.uk

Enterprising Britain is open to all places (in the UK) that can demonstrate how they have transformed the community through enterprise in the last two years.  All
entrants must represent an identifiable geographic area, such as a
town, a city, a parish or neighbourhood and be able to demonstrate that
enterprise is central to the economic and or social transformation of
the place.

The competition runs nationally across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and operates in two stages: a regional nomination stage and a national competition between the regional finalists.

The regional heats for the competition ran from 18th February 2008 to 31st May 2008.  The 12 regional winners were visited by members of the judging panel over the summer.

The Enterprising Britain 2007 winner was North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone (www.nsrz.org) and the runner-up was The Paper Trail (www.thepapertrail.org.uk)

The Enterprising Britain 2006 winner was West Kilbride Craft & Design Town.  For more information, go to www.westkilbride.org.uk

The Enterprising Britain 2005 winner was Sherwood Energy Village, Ollerton.  For more information, go to www.sherwoodenergyvillage.co.uk

The
overall winner and runner-up of Enterprising Britain 2008 will be
entered into a Europe-wide competition - the "European Enterprise
Awards" (www.european-enterprise-awards.org)

The
European Enterprise Awards are inspired by the Enterprising Britain
Competition, and aim to reward local and regional initiatives that are
improving business prospects.  The Awards are open to the 25 Member States of the European Union as well as Bulgaria, Iceland, Norway, Romania and Turkey.