A business hub at Roundswell Enterprise Park in Barnstaple has expanded its premises to meet high demand for modern, flexible office space amongst North Devon businesses and entrepreneurs.
Node Cowork on Enterprise Road offers hireable office space, hot desks and coworking, and expert business support to champion entrepreneurship in Barnstaple and support the local economy.
The space opened its doors to members for the first time in October 2021. Since then, it has surpassed 50 members in its open plan coworking space and its small office suites have almost reached full capacity, with another 150 people occupying the private rooms.
Node’s team also specialise in business support and have run fully-funded events including business expos, Accelerators for fast-growing enterprises, and Startup Clubs for anyone wanting to set up a new company. Since launching, hundreds of business owners and budding entrepreneurs have been armed with the expert knowledge they need to thrive in enterprise and to grow their business through the regular programme of support on offer.
The extension to the building will comprise large flexible office spaces for hire with a meeting room, kitchen and its own facilities, totalling 5,780 sq ft in size. The £2.1 million extension to the building was funded through investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership.
Node Cowork is operated by coworking and business support specialist Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) on behalf of Devon County Council.
Node’s Community Manager Julian Dymond said: “It’s an immensely exciting new chapter for the space to now be growing physically as well as in membership figures. In less than two years since launching, we’re so proud to see Node thriving with so many workers enjoying the space every day and we look forward to being able to welcome even more fantastic businesses and entrepreneurs into our community.
“The fact we have reached capacity at the original space so quickly is testament to the huge demand for businesses in North Devon to be able to work flexibly and in a modern setting where small teams or individuals aren’t isolated from like-minded people. We hope that the new space will allow even more local businesses to adopt this way of working and reach new heights through the fantastic networking and collaboration opportunities that come with being based at a busy business hub.
“Whilst Node has outgrown its own four walls, we see developing businesses here who are regularly looking to upsize their workspace to cater for bigger teams or more clients. To now be offering new, larger offices seems like a natural next step for us to ensure we can keep supporting growing enterprises and providing a place where their journey can continue.”
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said: “The expansion of the centre is an exciting development for the project. The success of Node demonstrates the strong demand for high quality workspace across the county. The first phase has exceeded expectations and continues to grow from strength to strength and provide vital business support for local SMEs.
“The additional space will complement the existing offer at Node by providing high quality grow-on space for expanding SMEs to move into. The building has been designed to meet high environmental and energy efficient standards.
“It is key to the wider business support provision in Devon and our ambitions to provide local start-ups and SMEs with the right support and opportunities as we develop a stronger, inclusive, and more sustainable economy.”
Karl Tucker, Chair of the Heart of the South West LEP, said: “It’s great to see the expansion of Node at Roundswell Enterprise Park completed, which will provide a fantastic high-grade workspace for local SMEs and support their business growth. We are delighted to have supported the project through our Growth Fund, helping to create local highly skilled jobs, and improve economic productivity and prosperity in the area.”
To find out more about Node or to book a tour, you can visit nodecowork.co.uk or contact the hub at barnstaple@townsq.co.uk or 01271 452442.
