Darlington Enterprise Association (DEA) was established in 1982 by local businesses and Darlington Borough Council as a not for profit organisation. Its objective was to stimulate economic growth and to help reduce unemployment in the Darlington area through offering advice and guidance to new and existing businesses. In addition it also looked to support these growing companies through the provision of offices and factory accommodation on very competitive and flexible terms.
As the demand for business advice increased it was decided that this activity would be carried out through a new company, Darlington Business Venture (DBV) which was established in 1984. DEA then focused on providing accommodation for start up businesses through 30 small units in Whessoe Road, a new development of eight units in Forge Way and office space in The Imperial Centre. However, with the development of the Darlington Property market during the 1990’s there was a substantial increase in the provision of suitable accommodation by other Companies and in 2003/4 the Board decided to relinquish the leases and sell the freehold properties to wind down the activities of DEA.
In 2005 DBV was sold to the management team to allow them to continue on an independent basis to provide business support services. The Board of DEA then began to look for another opportunity to invest the surplus monies from the property sale, in line with its original objectives, and decided that this would be best served through the County Durham Foundation’s Darlington Champions Fund. The Fund has the resources to manage the initial DEA investment of £50,000, which was matched by a further £50,000 from the BAT Legacy Fund, and DEA has the ability to direct this towards business related training and other value added initiatives in the Darlington area.
‘For 25 years Darlington Enterprise Association has supported business training and provided office and workshop accommodation to Darlington companies. Today, however, there are many more Agencies and Property Companies that offer a much wider range of services and the Board considered the original purpose of DEA had been successfully achieved. We wanted to use our surplus funds to continue to invest in Darlington companies and the Champions Fund is ideal for this purpose. We look forward to working with the Fund on various Projects over the coming years to help local businesses and individuals make a difference in Darlington’ Mike Airey, Chairman DEA