Creative sector support: Business support

Marketing and promotion

Marketing and promotion of your event, exhibition, or business should be a key part of your plan. We have resources to help you.

Medway Matters is our magazine published 4 times a year and delivered to every household in Medway.

There are a range of advertising opportunities in Medway Matters for local organisations and partners.

More about Medway Matters

Creative Medway are trying to:

  • break down barriers
  • connect the community
  • provide the keys to unlock Medway's creative talent.

They are driving Medway's Cultural Strategy.

You can list your event for free and add events to their diary.

List your event with Creative Medway

Visit the Creative Medway website to find out about opportunities and events.

Follow Creative Medway on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages

There are media platforms across Medway who you can contact to help advertise your event.

Visit their websites to find out more:

You can share your event on our social media channels.

If you tag us in your posts we can see your event and will try to share your content for you.

The hashtags to use are:

  • #CreativeMedway
  • #VisitMedway

Visit the Medway Arts Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages

We send a fortnightly newsletter out to our culture database that features:

  • funding and job opportunities
  • upcoming events and much more.

If you have something you would like us to share, email arts@medway.gov.uk.

You can list your event on our Visit Medway site for free.

Submit your event to the Visit Medway site

Business network and support

We want to support businesses that want to grow, start up or move to Medway.

You can find out more on our Business for Medway page.

You can also visit our business and regeneration pages to find out about:

There are reductions and reliefs available to help with the cost of your business.

More about business rates.

Visit our regeneration page to find out about transformation projects in Medway.

Find advice on new premises licensing, registering a food licence, street trading and more on our licensing page.

Find business and food safety advice such as starter packs, guidance books and advice leaflets on our business, licensing and regeneration page.

You can find help for businesses and non-domestic customers energy bill relief.

KMEP is the economic partnership for Kent and Medway which aims to drive forward economic growth and prosperity throughout the region.

More about KMEP

SELEP aims to ensure the survival and stability of our economy in the short term and to drive sustainable economic renewal and growth in the medium to long term.

More about SELEP

Locate in Kent offers free, confidential support for businesses looking to locate or expand in Kent.

More about Locate in Kent

A vast array of creative industry businesses within the estuary.

From designers and architects to film studios and software developers and their supply chains.

Use this business directory to look through who’s contributing to making Creative Estuary one of the most exciting creative hubs in the world.

In 2022, Medway was awarded £1.275 million from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This was part of a south east wide consortium bid to support local creative businesses with:

  • scale
  • bringing new products to market
  • accessing investor finance for the first time.

More about the Creative Growth Programme

Inside Track includes regular features such as:

  • the latest information on national, regional and local sources of funding
  • KCC grant schemes and contacts
  • funding deadlines.

More about Inside Track

Rules and regulations

If you're thinking about setting up a limited company, you'll need to register it with Companies House.

More about Companies House

If you're thinking of setting up a charity, the Charity Commission holds all the resources you need online, to register and start running your charity.

More about the Charities Commission

The Ethical Property Foundation can support you to manage and negotiate the right terms for your business when securing a property.

They offer free one to one, impartial property advice to:

  • charities
  • voluntary groups
  • not-for-profit organisations.

More about Ethical Property Foundation

Depending on the activity you intend to carry out in the property, you may need to consider public liability, contents and employer's liability.

AN, The Artists Information Company provide insurance as part of their membership.

LawWorks

LawWorks supports lawyers to volunteer their professional skills to assist people and community groups who:

  • cannot afford to pay for legal help
  • are unable to access legal aid or financial assistance.

More about LawWorks

Lawyers Volunteering for the Arts (LVFA)

LVFA is a pro bono legal project set up in 2012 by a group of London law firms who wanted to offer pro bono legal support to the arts community.

LVFA encourages solicitors to provide free legal advice to low income and not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations or community groups.

More about LVFA