Town of Truro and County of Colchester endorse business development pilot project

TRURO –  A pilot project aimed at attracting new business to the Colchester Region while supporting existing business in growth and retention is being endorsed by local municipalities.

Truro Town Council accepted the business development proposal at its Sept. 12 council meeting subject to developing a satisfactory governance model and other partner approvals.

“We applaud the Truro & Colchester Chamber’s commitment in proposing to take on this very challenging aspect of our economic development,” said Truro Mayor Bill Mills.

The 36-month pilot project will focus on marketing, promotion and communication by establishing a central point of contact to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as sector development, business retention and other supports.

Last month, Colchester County Council voted to support the proposed plan, which was developed by a group of business leaders with participation and input by local CAOs, municipal leadership and Millbrook First Nation in recent months.

“Colchester Council has endorsed the proposal as lead by the Chamber and are pleased with the commitment of all partners thus far,” said Colchester County Mayor Bob Taylor. “This is an important step to uniting our communities with a strong unified voice for economic development in our region.  This first step will lead to many exciting initiatives in the immediate future. ”

In recent months the Chamber has engaged with the business community and municipalities in an effort to garner support for the establishment of a business development body with a sharp focus on attracting new business to the area.

“The region has a tremendous geographic advantage over other areas and is rich with recreational, educational and social infrastructure,” said Chamber president Andrew Lake. “A unified effort to market and leverage these assets for prospective and existing business will position the region for continued prosperity.”

During the next few weeks the three municipalities in Colchester region and Millbrook First Nation will be meeting to discuss governance and work together to finalize a funding model with a goal to implement initial phases of the plan in the fall of 2016.