A TAMAR Valley business owner is disappointed by the lack of business space in East Cornwall.

Sam Jackman, Co-Founder of Boost Innovation Ltd a business based in Calstock has concerns that the lack of innovation space for growth for businesses could lead to her moving the business out of the Tamar Valley.

Sam said: ‘There’s a lack of small office spaces or multipurpose units but particularly office spaces. For businesses like ours we often have to do final presentations and meetings so we need rentable office space or office space that is fit for purpose and we don’t have that within the 4/5 miles in our local community.’

Boost Innovations produce prosthetic boobs to help women with breast cancer.

Sam currently works out of a home office set up in Calstock, with most of the staff working remotely and with production space in Liskeard and most recently Lostwithiel.

‘We’ve had to move some of our production to Lostwithiel which is miles away, said Sam.

‘This impacts on productivity.

‘You need the opportunity to have innovation space, office space for meetings, comfortable areas in which you can do business, and that is something that I haven’t been able to find as much of as I would like in the Tamar Valley.

‘I can’t even think of anywhere I can do that in the Tamar Valley, apart from Calstock Arts.’

Sam expressed that in the next year or so she would like to expand the business quite substantially, however the lack of suitable business space means that the business may have to moved out of the Tamar Valley, a decision she would not like to make.

‘We’re all spead out. If we had space here in the Tamar Valley, I would bring everything back to the the area, creating local jobs for local people and giving other local businesses the opportunity to access things like equipment.

‘What we would like to do is find better premises in and around the Tamar Valley so that we don’t have to move the business to Plymouth, or move the main HQ anywhere else because I want it based in my community where I have grown up and where I’ve lived all my life.’

Sam said she feels this need in Cornwall can often get overlooked and would like to increase awareness of the issue.

‘I think the issue needs to be raised at parish council and Cornwall Council level to see what they can come up with to support businesses. The parish council is quite aware of the challenges that face small businesses, but I worry that because of the proximity of the Tamar Valley to places like Plymouth, we might get overlooked because of the geography to nearby industrial spaces.

‘When I think about the next five years for my business and the type of capacity and business space we will need, it’s hard for me to visualise that being here. Although I am desperately wanting it to be, we don’t have the space to grow the business here in the Tamar Valley.’