environment all around.”
There is also its heritage, Atkinsons has an outlet in Lancaster’s imposing, historic castle which is a major visitor attraction.
However Ian, who talks about the engagement people have with his business which can trace its history back to 1837, says, “Lancaster isn’t just about heritage, it’s about what we’re doing with that and using the heritage as something that we can retrofit.”
Like Dan Knowles, Darren Chaisty, co-founder of Heysham based North Star Projects, a consultancy focused on supply chain change, sees the area’s transport links as a major plus-point.
Morecambe’s Midland Hotel
corridor to move economic activity over to this part of the world.”
Business leaders in the area point to its geography and its sense of community as other plus points when it comes to starting and growing businesses in the district.
Tarnia Elsworth, vice president of Lancaster and Morecambe chamber of commerce and director of TP Financial Solutions, says: “One of the key things is the collaborative way that the people who live here want to work.
“We started our business completely from scratch, not really knowing anybody, and in the last four years we’ve met hundreds and hundreds of people who all want the best for our district.
“And I’ve got to say that the civic responsibility that people feel around here is a real sense of pride for me. We have a set of businesspeople that aren’t out just to line their own pockets, they’re out to make our district the best that it can be. Everybody you meet wants to collaborate for the greater good.”
Jenny Pape, Lancaster based tax partner at accountancy group Azets, agrees. She says: “It’s a place where people want to be. There is a really loyal crowd who want to be in the area, who are committed to civic duty and responsibility.
“They want their families to grow up in an environment and a city and district that is supportive and collaborative and really cares about everything that’s going on locally.”
Lucy Arthurs, who manages the Leighton Hall estate, set in glorious north Lancashire countryside, sees the natural environment and the work-life balance it can offer as another strong selling point for the area.
She adds: “People are starting to realise this is a really funky place to come to. We have skillsets and we’ve a huge variety of businesses here, engineering, energy companies, tourism and tech. And a lot of youngsters are keen and eager to get into business.”
Dan Knowles also spells out the advantages Lancaster , Morecambe and their surrounding communities have when it comes to attracting investment. He says: “We are in a unique location, there is access to really good
universities, really good skills, and it’s a great place to live, on the doorstep of the Lakes.
“But there is also the national geography. It sits in the very centre of the UK, it’s on the West Coast Mainline and it sits on the M6. It is a couple of hours to Euston and a couple of hours to Glasgow so the geography just makes it a really ideal place.”
Ian Steel, whose job title is ‘keeper of the flame’ at his family-run business Atkinsons Coffee Roasters, returned to Lancaster after two decades away.
He says: “What attracts people to the area or attracts them to return are its beautiful built environment and the natural
He would like to see that strength used to attract more businesses and inward investment. He says: “I feel like a lot of the time we’re all doing business with each other, we’re all keeping ourselves going, we’ve talked with a lot of the same people in the city.
“It would be wonderful to see many more people coming here to do business with us and if we could start pulling people closer just so everybody could see how great it is.”
He points out that Heysham is just ten minutes from the motorway network and adds: “We talk a lot about that when we are travelling out of the area, we don’t talk enough about it from the point of view of travelling in.
“I want people to come and do business here with us and work with us and make it that place that not only our young people don’t want to leave but young people from other places want to come. We have that opportunity.”
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