YATE Library is teaming up with a business group to help the town’s entrepreneurs.

The library is holding its first ever new business workshop in the New Year as it hopes to utilise its resources more effectively and provide people with a useful event.

Senior library assistant Sandra Turner said: "We hold a lot of community events where people can make and create things or meet an author, but we have never done anything for people looking to start up a business.

"We often have groups come in to offer advice on benefits but this is a new venture for the library itself.

"We are a gateway to a lot of information and this is about the community helping the community."

Yate is the first library in South Gloucestershire to organise such an event. Staff have teamed up with Sodbury and Yate Business Association (SYBA) for the session, which will take place on Wednesday, January 30 (6.30-9pm).

Tracy Francksen, from SYBA and who runs Red Door Coaching and Training, said: "There is a very natural synergy between us and the library. Whenever people ask us about setting up their own business we say go to the library as they have so much information about it.

"There are a lot of people at SYBA who want to help."

She added: "Red Door already runs several over 50s workshops for people wanting to start up a business and I think there is a growing feeling that there are not any jobs out there.

"And there are a lot of people out there with good ideas who thinking that setting up a business will be better than being on benefits."

The event is free and is open to all, including sixth formers who are not planning to continue in education.

There will be four speakers on four different areas of business. Claire Jaggard, who runs the myyate and mysodbury local websites, will discuss marketing, Adrian Edmonds, who runs Free as a Bird marketing consultancy, will talk about unique selling points and finance, Roger Wilkins, who runs Cool Ventures which helps new business, will discuss tax, payroll, VAT and book keeping, and there will be a talk from the JobCentre.

Anyone wishing to attend is asked to pre-register by emailing yate.library@southglos.gov.uk or calling 01454 865662.