Waverley business leaders, local mayors and councillors launched the inaugural Waverley Business, Innovation and Growth Awards at a reception sponsored by the Lythe Hill Hotel this week.

Following two successful awards programmes in Cranleigh and better known as the BIG Awards, the far larger Awards include Farnham, Haslemere and Godalming and all areas in between!

The Awards have been designed ‘by local businesses, for local businesses’ to recognise, promote and celebrate the achievements of the innovative and entrepreneurial business community, dominated by small and medium sized business enterprises.

Although the four Chambers of Commerce in Cranleigh, Farnham, Haslemere and Godalming have collaborated to design the BIG Awards programme, it is very much open to any business in Waverley of any size and at any stage of growth, including not for profit trading organisations.

The principal Sponsor, Waverley Borough Council’s Economic Portfolio Holder Cllr Jim Edwards said ‘Waverley Borough Council is delighted to be principal sponsor for the first ever Waverley BIG awards. Local businesses play a key part in our community, supporting the local economy, providing jobs and adding to the attractiveness of the borough. The awards are a great opportunity to recognise the outstanding achievements of our businesses’.’

The Waverley BIG Awards 2018 are also sponsored by Dunsfold Park, Edwards Greene, Blynk, Surrey County Council, Taybridge Consulting, SI Capital, Cornmeter, Blue Dot Display, Paac IT, Marley Flowers, The Remarkable Studio, Surrey County Council and Farnham and Haslemere Town Councils.

There are eight Awards, one exclusively for each town and surrounds, or in the case of Cranleigh, village; plus four further Awards across Waverley for Customer Delight, Innovation, Employee Engagement and Community Partnership.

A statement from the Presidents of the Joint Waverley Chambers of Commerce said ‘Our aim is to raise the profile of Waverley as a great place to do business with local businesses, potential start-up and inward investing businesses who may locate in the area. We also want to raise awareness with skilled employees who currently commute out of the area unnecessarily when there are great skilled jobs on our doorstep. Our business community has sometimes been eclipsed by Surrey’s larger towns and London and yet Waverley has real strengths in the digitech, environmental, professional and business service sectors as well as its fabulous retail destination offer’

Application forms are available from the Waverley BIG Awards website at www.waverleybigawards.com and entries are open until midnight on Saturday 1st September.