Digital centre finally shrugs off gloom to beat growth targets

The Barnsley Digital Media Centre (DMC) will be half-full next month, after facing a difficult period when it struggled to attract new occupants.

Since it opened in 2007, the DMC has created 52 jobs. It has also helped to create eight businesses and supported 14 others.

Ross Banerjee, the centre's director, said he was very excited about the prospects for growth in 2010.

He said yesterday: "We are marketing the centre to try to attract new occupants of varying sizes. We hope to reach around 60 per cent occupancy with around 22 companies."

The DMC was opened in 2007 in a bid to attract more creative and digital media firms by offering affordable workspace and support packages.

Funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund, the centre has 72 low-cost, flexible office spaces for new and growing companies.

The project is part of the Remaking Barnsley scheme, which has seen the introduction of a new transport interchange and office buildings for the council.

The centre has been managed by Oxford Innovation on behalf of Barnsley Council.

A Barnsley Council spokesman said: "We are working together with Oxford Innovation to come up with a revised contract which will cover the immediate future of our working relationship on the management of the Digital Media Centre, which, although less than three years old, has demonstrated a good track record of support for early stage companies associated with the creative and digital media sector.

"We are actively engaging with creative and digital companies and are positive about the future of this sector in Barnsley."

The current occupancy of the DMC is 40 per cent, although this figure is due to rise to 50 per cent on February 1. Mr Banerjee said the business plan target had been for the centre to be 48 per cent occupied by February 2010.

From February 1, 17 companies will be based in the DMC, taking up 32 offices.

Since the centre opened in August 2007, 18 companies have moved in, stayed for a few months and moved to other bases.

Mr Banerjee said: "We have had quite a tough year, with occupancy levels not getting much higher but we are starting to see some signs of improvement."

He added: "We are attracting interest from a variety of early-stage businesses such as web development, e-commerce, photographers and software developers.

"The DMC gives people the opportunity to move from their bedroom to their first office. It gives them the chance to work in a shared environment and interact with like-minded entrepreneurs.

"They are also provided with incubation and a range of business support."

New start businesses can have occupancy at the DMC Studio with desks, PC and printer provided from 35 a week.

The client companies already in the DMC include the AIDC Centre which works with businesses and the public sector to help them make the most of technologies linked to automatic identification and data capture.

These include techniques such as bar-coding, smartcards, mobile communications and biometrics.

Other companies which have found a home in the DMC include Bassnett Media, a copywriting and communications company, and graphic design studio Design Definition.

Broadening the region's economic base

The Barnsley Digital Media Centre (DMC) was founded in 2007 as part of a strategy to encourage technology firms to South Yorkshire.

There had been concerns that Yorkshire was lagging behind the rest of Britain in terms of the number of people taking computer-related training.

Yorkshire Forward and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2005, in which they pledged to work together to broaden the region's economic base.

Since it was founded, the DMC has attracted a wide range of businesses, including InteliTap, a company which helps pubs and restaurants to provide quality draught beer.

InteliTap's monitoring system ensures beer is served at the right temperature.