Alan Robins: Working together for the Greater Brighton region

Attracting businesses to the region is something local authorities and their partners are increasingly working together to do.

In the Greater Brighton City Region, which covers the area from Worthing in the west to Newhaven in the east, and up to Gatwick and Crawley in the north, council’s work together to help identify and address barriers to growth such as skills shortages and road, rail and other infrastructure issues, attracting investment and creating new homes and commercial space.

The newly-merged West Sussex Council and Brighton and Hove City Council Commercial Property Search website is one example of the Greater Brighton area working in partnership.

The Commercial Property database (CPD) is a commercial property search engine that is easy to navigate, allowing businesses to conduct detailed property searches by property type, size and location.

Search categories include, land, leisure, office and retail and, at the click of a button, each property listing comes with downloadable, comprehensive information and photographs.

The website gives would-be investors an opportunity to search without commitment until they have found what they want.

Data is sourced by commercial property specialist EGi, which deals with up to 1,000 agents every month to capture the available stock on the market and upload it regularly to the CPD ensuring that users have the latest information on available premises.

The website gives users a detailed breakdown of the type of properties on offer, region by region, and as it captures data based on the number and type of searches being made, it can also be used by local authorities to identify where there is a shortage of stock in a particular borough or of a particular type.

This can be used to understand demographic and market trends, helping inform planning policy and potentially plug any gaps in the market.

Councils in the Greater Brighton City Region provide a range of services for business.

At Brighton and Hove City Council, the economic development team funds the annual Ride the Wave business support programme as well as sign-posting businesses to local services such as the Coast to Capital Business Navigator, which offers business advice and links to specialists in a range of areas including access to finance, marketing, export and business growth.

If you are looking for premises in Greater Brighton start your search here: pps.greaterbrighton.tractivity.co.uk/

Councillor Alan Robins is the lead member for tourism, development and culture on Brighton and Hove City Council.