Shop at my Local, developed and run by Rochford District Council has been named the winner of the Enterprising Britain regional competition in the East of England.

The scheme beat stiff competition and crowned Rochford the most enterprising place in the region.

Now in its sixth year, the nationwide competition run by Enterprise UK rewards cities, villages, towns and neighbourhoods that have tackled the economic downturn head on and are successfully creating jobs, boosting local business and nurturing entrepreneurial talent as the UK emerges from recession.

Shop at my Local won 2010′s regional stages of the Enterprising Britain competition in recognition of its work encouraging more local spend in the Rochford area not only to provide local businesses with an increased customer base but also to help the local economy by retaining local spend.

Once a business has signed up to the scheme, they will have access to local suppliers through an online network and are given the opportunity to advertise on the Shop at my Local website which provides direct access to local residents.

Shop at my Local have worked with businesses in Rochford to provide an incentive for residents to shop locally through rewards and vouchers. It also encourages businesses to sign up to the pledge of the scheme to provide high level customer service and work towards creating a cleaner and greener community

In a little over 12 months since it launched, 336 businesses have signed up to the Shop at my Local scheme and 331 shoppers pledged to shop locally. The scheme has also delivered training for 44 local businesses in the area. 

Councillor Keith Gordon, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Tourism, Heritage, the Arts, Culture and Business at Rochford District Council said:

“Winning Enterprising Britain for the East of England is a fantastic achievement and we are delighted to have been recognised for our work in making a difference to our local economy, bringing change to the area, creating jobs and transforming the community. Our initiative doesn’t stop here though – we will continue to champion enterprise and look forward to the national finals of the competition.”

During August Shop at my Local will go up against the other eleven regional finalists from around the UK for the Enterprising Britain 2010 national title. The overall winner will then go on to represent the UK at the European Enterprise Awards next year.

Commenting on the success of Shop at my Local Sheila Childerhouse, Deputy Chair of the East of England Development Agency said:

“The success of Shop at my Local demonstrates what can be achieved if people work together to improve the social and economic prospects of their community. We are confident that their great example will encourage other organisations to do more to support entrepreneurial behaviour in the region that will continue to benefit generations to come.”
For more information about the 2010 Enterprising Britain competition go to www.enterpriseuk.org/enterprisingbritain.