Businesses and entrepreneurs have been completing a new online survey to inform Horsham District Council and its survey partners about their future business space needs, whether they are looking to maintain, reduce or expand their current space.
Survey respondents can win one of four free ‘Team Building Escape Room Experiences’ for their business, hosted by Major Mindgames of Horsham. Chosen at random every fortnight, the first set of prize draw winners have now been selected.
Businesses are encouraged to complete the short survey to help provide a valuable insight into local business space needs and to inform future support, with more prizes available to win at: https://www.horsham.gov.uk/spacesurvey.
Cllr Ruth Fletcher, Cabinet Member for Local Economy and Place, commented:
The results from this survey will provide useful up-to-date information to help us understand local business space needs now and for the future. I hope to see many more businesses taking part whilst the survey is still open and having their say on this important topic.
Commenting on their experience completing the survey, prize draw winner David Howard of local micro-distillery Cabin Pressure Spirits said:
It was super easy to fill in the survey. I'd encourage all businesses to complete it. It only took a couple of minutes and we came away with a great prize!
The survey starts with a basic business profiling section then takes each respondent to a set of tailored questions based on their forecasted needs.
Another survey respondent and prize draw winner, Carly Hacker of local creative agency 1348 Design, commented:
Horsham feels like such a creative place. With more people working flexibly and from home here it would be great to see it continue to thrive as a real hub attracting more business with the right accessible spaces for innovation and collaboration. It’s great to have an opportunity to let our local council know what we require so they can, in turn, help our businesses to grow. The survey was quick and easy to complete, I am really happy that HDC are asking and listening to local businesses.
Every response contributes towards building up a picture of local needs. This will help the Council with its economic development and planning support services and also provide an updated insight for several business partners who have expressed an interest in the survey results. These include developers Muse Places and L&G/Cala, who both have significant approved sites “Larksfield Place” (ex-Novartis site in Horsham) and “Mowbray” (North Horsham) respectively. Other partners include Freedom Works who is a regional flexible business operator, Visit Horsham, who in partnership with the Council have recently launched a directory of local flexible business spaces, and the University of Brighton who have recognised the significance of the data the survey could provide.
All survey data will be anonymised for analysis of trends, but there is the opportunity for businesses to highlight specific needs. The survey will remain open until an optimum number of responses have been received.