MEMBERS of Okehampton Chamber of Trade listened to two talks of interest to the business community at their March meeting last Thursday. John Medland of West Devon Borough Council gave members information about the Small Business Rate Scheme. Mr Medland said the council had put together a leaflet covering all the details about business rates. He said business rate collection levels were very good in West Devon, which put the borough in the top quarter for the whole country. Robin Makeig Jones then talked about the Devon Renaissance Programme, a funding stream initiated by the RDA which aims to improve the general business climate in rural Devon to increase productivity. Mr Makeig Jones, who has set up his office in Okehampton, said the programme could help businesses in many different ways: tackling skills issues in rural communities, bringing young people into small business and improving access to the latest innovations and research. Mr Makeig Jones said the three-year programme covered the districts of West Devon, Torridge, North Devon and South Hams. He explained that West Devon was in need of support as it had, on average, lower productivity, income and basic skills levels and fewer young people than other areas of the country. He stressed that local people?s ideas on how business productivity could be improved were needed to ensure local businesses got the most out of the scheme. Anyone who would like to find out more about the Devon Renaissance programme can contact Mr Makeig Jones on 01837 658643 or [email protected]">[email protected]