The Bognor Regis Regeneration Board, a group dedicated to boosting the local economy, has partnered with digital enterprise hub The_Track to give local freelancers and small businesses free office space and support.

The new corporate partnership means the Board will receive 50 day passes for its staff and members to take advantage of the hub’s facilities over the next year – 20 of which will be offered out to local startups for no cost.

The Bognor Regis Regeneration Board is a collective of local business, government and education representatives, and aims to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. Its foundations lay in a common vested interest in Bognor Regis’ socio-economic growth and expansion of the opportunities available for its residents.

With Board members already using and benefiting from the coworking hub themselves, it’s hoped that encouraging businesses to claim the free passes will tackle the financial barriers to acquiring office space and support the local startup scene.

The_Track is located in Bognor Regis railway station and is an initiative led by West Sussex County Council, with the support of Coast to Capital LEP. As well as business support and mentorship, it provides a shared and collaborative workspace, events space, meeting rooms and ultrafast fibre connection for creative and digital businesses in the local area.

The_Track, operated by Town Square Spaces (TownSq), champions alternative ways of working from the daily commute or home office set-up. It encourages people to work closer to home in a community-oriented environment and prides itself on the many potential collaborative and networking opportunities between hub members, offering their businesses a boost.

Georgia Alston, Community Manager at The_Track, said: “We’ve been proud to welcome the Bognor Regis Regeneration Board into the hub recently and see them enjoying the space. It’s also great that an influential local organisation is adopting coworking; hopefully it will help to get the message across to others and encourage them to reduce their commute or escape the confines of the house when remotely working.

“The Board are so passionate about revitalising Bognor Regis and injecting life into the town’s business scene, and we look forward to hosting the local entrepreneurs who make use of the available day passes. We take great pride in the close-knit community we’ve got here and it’s always exciting to see it become more diverse as new members get involved and achieve great things.”

Jeremy Pardey, Resort Director at Butlin’s and Bognor Regis Regeneration Board member, has been taking advantage of the corporate membership and enjoying The_Track’s facilities. Jeremy said: “It’s been refreshing to invite partners and stakeholders to meet in a dynamic town centre space with community at its core and to give the Bognor Regis Regeneration Board a base, which is useful as our members all come from different organisations.

“The facilities and available support are also clearly benefiting local entrepreneurs and freelancers, with a close-knit network of members to work alongside and a number of great success stories coming out of the hub – hence why we’re encouraging more people in the area to work in the space with the available day passes and hopefully take their business to the next level.

“One thing the Board is keen to establish is a ‘place brand’ for Bognor Regis by nurturing the expansion of business, educational and leisure opportunities on offer here and engaging local residents in our work. In collaboration with the other members at The_Track and the StartUp Club, we can bring up-and-coming community leaders on board to help forge a vibrant local identity for Bognor Regis.”