Business Advice & Support

As well as having a dedicated Business Support Officer, SSDC has a team of dedicated Economic Development Officers who can provide direct support to businesses (e.g. commercial property information, advice on grants and funding opportunities, networking events, etc.) as well as basic advice and support on all other council matters (e.g. environmental health, planning, rates, procurement, etc.), referring businesses to other departments where detailed or specialist advice is required.

The following document gives a basic introduction to advice and support available:

Business Support Flyer

Contact us online

T: 01935 462444

The Heart of the South West Growth Hub is available to help local businesses and start ups identify and access business advice and support available to them.

This includes the Growth Support Programme which provides free one-to-one specialist advice and support to eligible businesses.

Inward Investment and International Trade

If you are looking to invest within South Somerset, our team can help, whether it is finding new commercial premises or land, fielding queries regarding the planning system or regulatory compliance, or just helping you plug into the local business support network. Through a wider partnership with the other districts across Somerset we can also help with enquiries relating to rest of the county.

Alternatively, you may be a local business looking to find out about exporting your goods or services abroad. If so, we may also be able to help by signposting you to specialist advice, exporting opportunities, workshops and more.

For specialist advice the Economic Development team has contacts with HM Government's Department of International Trade. 

Better Business for All (BBfA)

The Devon and Somerset Better Business for All group is part of a national government initiative to reduce the regulatory burden on business.

It brings together businesses and regulators to consider and change how local regulation is delivered and received. It involves the creation of local partnerships to identify the issues facing local businesses and help them understand and meet their responsibilities.

The aim is to show how working with your local regulators can save you time and money, improve your competitiveness and help grow your business.

It's about ensuring that regulatory staff better understand how businesses operate and the pressures they face and giving businesses the confidence to seek regulatory advice without fear of enforcement.

What is BBfA?

BBfA Business Survey One Year On

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