A VIRTUAL marketplace which will help businesses in the borough network is to be set up.

Hyndburn’s Local Connect website will go online shortly after the idea of a team of enthusiasts was awarded £5,000 to connect people, businesses and organisations across Hyndburn, thanks to Lancashire County Council's Give it a Go scheme.

Rob Carder, who heads the Local Connect team, said: “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that Local Connect can now become a reality thanks to Give it a Go, believing our idea had potential.

By offering local entrepreneurs a facility that will help them succeed in business should certainly make our community stronger”.

From their collective experience of running local businesses and their involvement as volunteers with Community Enterprise Boards such as the Hyndburn Business Opportunities Support Service, the group noticed a niche in the market.

Leader of Hyndburn Council Peter Britcliffe said: “I would like to congratulate Rob and the team for their enterprising idea.”