European Social Fund in England
2007 - 2013
Newquay First scheme celebrates a year of success
The Newquay First loyalty and discount scheme, designed to encourage residents to support local businesses was a year old in March 2010 and is celebrating sustained success.
The Newquay First initiative is part of the Cornwall Cluster Project which is financed by European Social Fund Convergence, the Learning and Skills Council and is supported by the Learning Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The scheme, set up by the joint forces of Newquay Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, Newquay’s Town Centre Manager, Tourism Newquay, Newquay For Excellence Training and Twenty-Twenty Marketing, has not just benefited local residents. It has also meant participating businesses become eligible for free and discounted staff training.
So far over 100 businesses have signed up for the scheme - 70% of those have taken advantage of the training opportunities - and more than ten thousand residents are enjoying the discount.
The aims of the project are to develop sustainable cluster groups responsive to local need, support the learning and skills needs of individual businesses, promote the benefits of a better trained workforce to employers and to up-skill the workforce in partnership with training providers and the Skills Brokerage Service.
In Newquay the scheme is being managed by Newquay for Excellence Training and specifically targets small independent businesses. It takes the form of a loyalty card. Each business involved displays a sticker and cardholders have the opportunity to take advantage of special offers - most of which include discounts and which change on a regular basis.
Director of Newquay for Excellence Training, Gill Moore said, “We needed an angle to encourage businesses to get involved with training so the loyalty card scheme was used as a hook.
“It has been hugely beneficial on many levels and has enabled a number of organisations to work more closely together. That has resulted in a more coordinated effort which means businesses get the right support at the right time.”
Gill explained that all training connected to Newquay First is either provided or facilitated by Newquay for Excellence Training and tailored to meet the needs of each specific business.
Varnals Opticians is just one of the Newquay businesses involved in the loyalty scheme and has offered various discounts to local residents since the card launched.
Manager Kate Bright said, “A lot of customers have benefited, and I'm currently on an NVQ course in Management as a result, so it's really good news all round.”
Andy Weir, Chairman of Newquay Chamber of Commerce and Tourism said, "There are two sides to this scheme: the training side, which is always a good thing and it is European money which is being used so if the town isn’t proactive and positive the funding will go somewhere else; and the cards, which encourage people to shop in the town and support local traders.
"With the current economic climate, anything you can do to boost trade in the town can't be bad. It's a win-win."
ESF Director for the LSC South West, Mark Williams said, “Newquay First is a great example of a town pulling together to create an integrated package of support to help achieve future aspirations. It benefits small independent businesses and residents through the loyalty card, it supports the sustainability and viability of the town and through the training programmes it is improving the skills of the local workforce, which extends employment opportunities and in the long term creates a better future for Cornwall as a whole.”