A NEW venture supporting residents in Deighton has been given a helping hand to put its operations on a business-like footing.

Fresh Horizons Ltd is a social enterprise business providing a range of services for residents – including running projects to help people into work, education or training, organising children’s play schemes and supporting start-ups.

The organisation, which is based at the Chestnut Centre in Deighton, was set up in 2003 and delivers contracted community and programmes for the public sector and other bodies.

This includes managing a portfolio of buildings and light industrial units, along with a library and information centre, a community cafe and involvement in community consultations.

It has been supported by West Yorkshire Social Enterprise Link, since 2003.

WYSE Link has provided free training advice and help with development plans to secure Fresh Horizons’ long-term future.

Mike McCusker, managing director of Fresh Horizons, said: “WYSElink has helped us systematically prepare to meet the demands of the public sector tendering process.

“The most useful support has been through the Tender Readiness Toolkit, the Social Return on Investment Training and through ‘The Cat’s Pyjamas’ event held in Liverpool, which has given us a firmer understanding of how to run a social enterprise business.”

The support of WYSELink has already reaped rewards for the firm.

Successes have included winning a coveted Third Sector Excellence Award for Fresh Horizons’ You Live and Learn project, which used drama to raise aspirations about returning to learning and employment.

Other landmarks include enrolling 1,000 new library members, attracting more than 3,000 people to its community events and recording 40,000 visitors to its buildings.

WYSELink is funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.