THE refurbishment of a business centre could provide benefits for decades to come, it has been claimed.

Southampton City Council chiefs are set to approve £386,000 spending on an overhaul of the Acorn Enterprise Centre.

The centre contains 16 light industrial units, but if the plans get the go-ahead that number will almost double to 29.

The West Itchen Community Trust (WICT), which runs the centre in Empress Road, hopes small businesses and entrepreneurs will set up shop in the new units, and boost the surrounding community as a result.

The funding, which the Cabinet intends to use to finance some of the project, came from a £26 million Government grant made as part of the SRB2 project to improve life in inner-city neighbourhoods of Southampton.

Between 1996 and 2003 a total of £80 million was spent on the project, which created 820 new jobs, helped 129 new businesses to start up and built 853 new homes.

The refurbishment of the Acorn Centre, which could be agreed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, is part of a wider strategy by Labour council chiefs to encourage new businesses to set up in the city.

Discussions are still ongoing about the creation of a 2,500 sq ft creative centre in Above Bar, which could create 300 jobs.

Council deputy leader and ward councillor Stephen Barnes-Andrews thinks the revitalised Acorn Centre will fit perfectly into that blueprint, saying: “The bottom line is that it’s good news. The only way the city is going to get out of this mess is by getting economic activity going on, so that’s our priority.

“We’re trying to encourage people to get businesses going and employing people.

“This represents a very good scheme for the whole area and will certainly tidy up Empress Road.”

WICT chief executive Rick Harwood said: “Raising the finance for this scheme is the next hurdle. We are engaging social investors, who are keen on capital projects that bring more to an investment than financial return.

“The new development will have a positive impact on income and that in turn will be reinvested in community and economic development, community engagement and business support.

“The scheme will create many jobs and opportunities in the long term and provide an up to date facility for new, small and growing businesses in the area.”