It has been pretty telling that of all the microphones and cameras that have popped inside the Digital Greenhouse in Market Street these past few days, not one of the people who have been coaxed into an interview appears to be representing the sector that the facility was set up to foster.
The Digital Greenhouse is a nice space, an attractive proposition. It gives people the chance to be in town without the costs associated with property rental. Less than £1,000 a year secures your seat – but while the user gets a bargain, the taxpayer is footing a pretty hefty bill for what has moved from becoming a hub of digital innovation into a simple co-working space. And hence Economic Development, renting the place from a private landlord and with a lease break coming up, is right to pull the plug.
The Greenhouse was the right move for its time. But it's not moved on the way that it needed to.
About 100 yards away the Chamber of Commerce has spent the summer developing a coworking space in its headquarters in the Market Buildings. You’d think it would now leap at the potential business opportunity.
Chamber also makes the point that the withdrawal of support leaves the States over-invested in support for financial services, but ED has said that it will still look to support the right ideas at the right price. And that is surely key to the future of this sector.
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