Over the next few years, broadband services across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be improved.

The Government's Broadband Delivery UK programme has allocated £7.44m to improve services in the area. A local project led by Staffordshire County Council, City of Stoke-on-Trent Council, and the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is working to raise the extra funds needed to deliver faster, more reliable broadband.

You will find more details of the plans here.

If you live in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent, you can help the project by completing an online survey. You can measure your broadband speed when completing the survey. Residents and businesses are encouraged to take part.

Please visit: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/broadbandconsultation to take part in the survey.

Businesses have until the end of January to sign up to Trusted Trader for free after Derbyshire County Council extended the deadline on its membership offer.

The usual joining fee of up to £54 has been waived until January 31.

Cllr Kevin Parkinson, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "We didn’t want any businesses to miss out which is why we’ve extended the offer for a further month.”
With more than 1,100 businesses listed, Trusted Trader is the biggest scheme of its kind in the country run by a council.

For more details, call 01629 536148 or visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/trustedtrader.

Over 700 young people will be helped into work after Derbyshire County Council signed a contract to deliver one of its biggest ever apprenticeship drives.

An agreement has been signed with Chesterfield College's apprenticeship academy, Learning Unlimited, to manage a four-year scheme.

It means 500 apprenticeships will be created across the county council – ranging from roles in engineering and maintenance, business administration, and other services including adult care – with the opportunity to compete for permanent employment on completion.

The authority is also offering training grants of £2,500 to small and medium-sized companies to take on apprentices – creating a further 200 training opportunities in a £500,000 scheme. These will be targeted at 16 and 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.

Register your interest at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/apprenticeships.

Chapel-en-le-Frith's Blythe House Hospice has won a major award for women in business across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

They took the Team of the Year title, sponsored by The Money Shop, at the awards ceremony, which was held at Chatsworth House. The awards were facilitated by the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and presented by ITV Central News anchor Sameena Ali-Khan.

Jean Mountain, Chair of the Chamber's Enterprising Women group, said: "These enterprising women make an important contribution to the local economy and their success stories will hopefully inspire many other women to pursue their business dreams and these awards are all about acknowledging and celebrating those achievements.”

Source - Buxton Advertiser

A new local produce market will be held in Glossop on the second Saturday of each month. Specialist local food and drink producers and crafts people will be setting out their stall along side Glossop's Outdoor Market Traders.

The markets will sell a range of high quality goods including cakes, pies and locally reared meats as well as craft and artwork items. The markets will take place at Glossop Outdoor Market, off Market Street, Glossop, alongside the regular market.

For further information contact Sarah Porru on 0845 129 77 77 or call 01298 28400 ext 3523 or email sarah.porru@highpeak.gov.ukFarmers' Markets are also held in:

Castleton – the first Sunday each month, 10am – 3pm, Call Lindsay Carruthers on 01433 620699

Whaley Bridge – second Saturday each month, 10am – 2pm, inside the Uniting Church, Buxton Road, Whaley Bridge. Call 0845 129 77 77 or 01298 28400 for further information.

Local MPs and councillors are showing their support for small businesses by signing-up to be ‘Champions for Real-Life Entrepreneurs'.

Launched by the Federation of Small Businesses, Championing the UK's Real-Life Entrepreneurs seeks to support small businesses, both through practical support and by ensuring that, at every level of Government, entrepreneurs are viewed as potential wealth, growth and job creators of the future.

John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, Andrew Bingham, Conservative MP for High Peak, Councillor David Wilson and Councillor Julie Pattern of Derbyshire County Council have committed to; listen to the concerns of Real-Life Entrepreneurs and champion their cause, represent the interests of Real-Life Entrepreneurs on a national and local level, recognise the many thousands of hard-working Entrepreneurs that support the UK economy and support the FSB in their endeavours to get the best deal for Real-Life Entrepreneurs.

Natalie Gasson, FSB Development Manager, said "Now more than ever, local authorities must adopt policies and programmes that place small businesses at the heart of their agenda and directly support an entrepreneurial economy. Creating the right environment for entrepreneurship to flourish is complex, but there are key things the Government can do to make a difference. I am delighted that local MPs and councillors are keen to work with the FSB to support small businesses in the region and I look forward to working with those who have already signed up as Champions and those willing to do so.”

There will be a series of free FSB events and workshops in the New Year designed to help start-up businesses get off the ground and to give existing small business owners the tools they need to succeed and flourish.

For more information on the FSB's Real-Life Entrepreneurs campaign, visit www.fsb.org.uk/real-life-entrepreneurs or email Natalie Gasson, Development Manager, on natalie.gasson@fsb.org.uk.

Peak Perks is a new discount scheme run by Verity Calderbank at High Peak Community Housing.

Up to 4200 High Peak Community Housing tenants will be given the chance to join the Peak Perks scheme and save up to 10% with local businesses. Discounts and offers can vary and Peak Perks will promote whatever offer that you suggest.

Times are tough in the recent economic climate so some additional business through your door may help turnover for local businesses.

Email verity.calderbank@hpch.co.uk to join in the scheme - places are limited so do not delay!

Two councils have joined forces to stage a string of free information and advice events for businesses with a growing ambition.

Featuring one-to-one clinics with advisors; a creative industries road show; and workshops on trading with other countries the Supporting Growth and Trade Programme has been organised by High Peak Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

The programme kicks off in Buxton's Pavilion Gardens on Wednesday 19 October with a series of half-hour, one-to-one surgeries during which companies can get individual tailored advice on exploring new markets or streamlining their manufacturing. Alternatively, they can just speak to advisors to get a better understanding of support and financial assistance on offer now and in the future.

With appointments running from 9.15am to 2.45pm, the clinics are ideal for businesses of all sizes that are keen to expand and would welcome expert advice from UK Trade and Investment, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and local Chamber of Commerce. Appointments need to be pre-booked to guarantee availability.

The surgeries are repeated in Moorlands House, Leek on Wednesday, November 2 when West Midlands advisors will be on hand. Companies are free to go to either event.

Next up is a creative industries road show in Bradbury House, Glossop from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Friday, November 4. The event is earmarked for creative and enterprising people who are in business and would like to expand their business and increase their sales/profits as well as suitable for people just starting up or eager to turn a hobby into a money-making proposition.

Organised in partnership with Creative Derbyshire and High Peak Community and Voluntary Support, the morning boasts case studies, speed presentations and lots of exhibitors. The road show will also be a valuable chance to network with other creative people.

The series continues at Moorlands House on Friday, November 25 when a HM Revenues and Customs advisor leads a half-day workshop covering the tax and VAT rules applying to any UK business importing or exporting.

Running from 9.30am to 12.30pm, the session is aimed at the self employed including people running home-based Internet businesses or eBay shops, as well as firms of all sizes wanting to explore international trade. The workshop is repeated at Glossop Municipal Buildings on Wednesday, November 30 from 1.30pm to 4.30pm.

To reserve places at any of the events, call customer services at High Peak Borough Council on 0845 129 7777 or e-mail customer-services@highpeak.gov.uk

A butcher, baker and candlestick maker will be among the 100-plus stallholders showcasing their wares on Saturday and Sunday of October 15 and 16 as the Great Peak District Fair celebrates its 10th birthday.

TV personality Colin Sykes, presenter of BBC Look Northwest, will take centre stage in Buxton's Pavilion Gardens at 10am on the Saturday when he raises the curtain on a keenly-anticipated fiesta of fine foods, stunning art and unique crafts - all produced in the Peak District.

A first for 2011 is a live exhibition by Peak District artist Rob Wilson. Visitors to the fair, organised by High Peak Borough Council, will be able to follow Rob's progress on a distinctive new painting featuring paint, paper, typeface, printed matter and stitching.

Running from 10am to 5pm both days, the celebration will feature mouth-watering, grass-fed meats at competitive prices from Smith Hall Organics. Slow grown for superior taste, the marvellous meats include dry-cured bacon, sausages and beef burgers - and a wide range of gluten-free products.

Other highlights of the feast of family fun will include a climbing wall, lots of children's entertainment and the now-famous Buxton Beer Festival marquee serving award-winning cask ales on the Promenade.

Now in its third year, the beer festival boasts fine ales from the Thornbridge, Winkle and Howard Town breweries - among others. Live music will guarantee real-ale lovers a fun atmosphere as the beer flows.

Peak District community projects from solar heating to fruit-growing will be boosted by grants from the national park's Sustainable Development Fund.

In its latest round of grant-allocations the Fund's panel approved:

• £15,500 toward solar photo-voltaic panels for the village hall at Waterhouses, Staffordshire.
• Up to £10,000 toward the Off the Ground project at the Farming Life Centre, Blackwell, near Buxton. This one-year pilot will promote the use of windfall or other fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
• £3,000 toward a community orchard for Edale, on land owned by the National Trust near the village station..
• £10,500 to Elton Local History Group to help develop a village guide and trail with leaflets and information boards about its history, ecology and landscape.
• Up to £14,000 to the Cycling for Everyone project along the Monsal Trail. This will include free cycling training for families, schools and community groups, themed rides and bicycle maintenance sessions.

The Peak District National Park's Sustainable Development Fund supports environmental, educational and social projects that help sustain national park communities. Its panel of local independent assessors decides on grant applications four times a year.

Chair of the Fund panel Pauline Beswick said: "These projects demonstrate that despite tough economic times, community vitality is alive and well in the Peak District. Local villages and groups are full of ideas to benefit their communities and if they help promote a healthy future for the Peak District we're glad to help with seed-money to get them off the ground.”

Applicants are also given advice and help with further sources of funding from Sustainable Development officer Richard Godley. For more information, go to http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/living-in/grants/sdf or call 01629 816200.