A major project designed to improve the survival chances of fledgling companies in West Sussex has been launched.

The Adur Enterprise Gateway (AEG), based in Shoreham, will help entrepreneurs establish themselves in business.

Users will be given advice on marketing and product development and access to training and government funding.

Director Christine Eccleston said: "I envisage working with companies for quite a long time, maybe over a period of three years.

"We are not going to just abandon them once they start to find their feet, which I think may have happened in the past.

"We want to provide ongoing support so eventually some of these small businesses turn into larger employers."

The cornerstone of the project is the Adur Gateway Building, which is being built at the Ropetackle site in Old Shoreham Road.

More than 20 start-up businesses will occupy the 14,000sqft office complex, scheduled to open in December next year.

It will be similar to the Sussex Innovation Centre in Falmer and provide cheap office space with computer and telephone equipment.

The centre will also employ secretarial staff to help businesses handle calls and offer flexible tenancy arrangements.

The ground floor of the building will be a community arts and education facility, which will house a 250-seat auditorium.

The scheme has been jointly developed by the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) and South East Business Links.

Links have already been established with Northbrook College in Worthing and Brighton University.

It is being heralded as a major boon for small businesses in Adur, which is one of the Government's regeneration areas.

Similar projects elsewhere in the country have resulted in a 50 per cent higher success rate among users.

Adur District Council leader Neil Parkin said the Enterprise Gateway would be a positive asset.

He said: "The community arts and education facility will give a real boost to the area too.

"We will do everything we can to ensure that it will work alongside the Enterprise Gateway and make both initiatives work."

Phil Dibsdale, head of land and property (East) at Seeda, said the building would be a landmark for business.

He added: "This will be a tremendous boost for businesses in Adur and for the redevelopment of Ropetackle as a whole."

Christine, who has a successful career in business behind her, is based at 2 Tarmount Lane, Shoreham. She can be contacted on 01273 464867.

Tuesday June 15, 2004