NFEA East member NWES has been recognised for its contribution to Lowestoft development - recently named the most enterprising place in the UK for 2009.

It was once one of the most deprived towns in the United Kingdom but now Lowestoft has been recognised as the most enterprising place in the UK after a successful bid to turn its fortunes around.

The seaside town was crowned with the prestigious award in this year’s Enterprising Britain competition, on behalf of the government’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

In recent years the town has been ranked in the bottom 15pc of the most deprived areas in the UK because of industry downturns and the low aspirations of many of its residents.

But these problems, combined with seasonal unemployment and a large migratory population, have been largely solved by NFEA East member NWES, the local enterprise agency behind Lowestoft’s revival, which helped to start up over 5,000 new businesses, creating almost 10,000 jobs in the town.

Thanks to funding from NWES, the community now has its first centre for performing arts and a newly opened OrbisEnergy centre - an £8.7million investment designed to capitalise on the renewable energy sector.

The competition, run by Enterprise UK on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, has recognised these achievements and the strong enterprise culture which has recently grown in the region.

Lord Davies, minister for trade, investment and small business, said: “Enterprise remains the engine room of our economy, with 4.8 million businesses last year contributing more than 50pc to the UK’s turnover.

“NWES has turned a deprived seaside town into a community that is no longer dependant on a few major employers. In these tough economic times it has established a, supporting growing businesses and creating jobs.

“In the current economic climate, we must continue to place enterprise at the heart of our businesses and communities. We need to inspire locally and grow globally. Enterprising Britain shows us the hotspots of enterprise inspiration.”

NFEA would like to congratulate the team at NWES for this outstanding national recognition and wishes the organisation all the very best for continuing developments in Lowestoft.

For more information about NWES, visit www.nwes.org.uk or for more information on the Enterprising Britain competition, visit www.enterpriseuk.org/get_involved/enterprising_britain