It’s hard to believe that our Indie Durham City project has been running since 2020, and we figured it was probably time for a reminder of how businesses, customers and local people can get involved!
What we do
Just to recap, our work is funded by the fabulous City of Durham Parish Council, and our task is to support and promote shops, cafes, restaurant, bars and other independent businesses in the Parish Council area, working alongside partners like Durham BID and Durham Markets to encourage visits to our wonderful city.
Independent businesses are those that are not part of a big chain or corporation – the smaller businesses, usually with only one or a few branches, that are often family owned by people living locally. They are what make any town or city centre distinctive and interesting, and help keep money circulating in the local economy.
Our social media
We are active on Twitter (X), Facebook and Instagram, and you can find and follow us on all those platforms at the same handle: @IndieDurhamCity.
Help spread the word about our city’s fantastic businesses by sharing our updates if you can, or by visiting the businesses that we feature (and telling them you saw them in a post by Indie Durham City).
If you’re a Durham business, tagging @IndieDurhamCity in your posts on any of those platforms is the best way to get our attention. We can’t share *everything* we’re tagged in, but we always do our best to promote a wide range of businesses, old and new, via our own social channels.
Free support available
If you’d like to know more about the Indie Durham City project, all the important details are here on this website.
If you’re an independent business currently trading in the City of Durham Parish Council area – or someone thinking of starting or locating a business here – there is information on the website about all the marketing and mentoring support that’s available. Even better, any support offered by us is free of charge thanks to the Parish Council’s funding.
We’re always particularly keen to encourage businesses that are not currently active on social media to become more so! We know from our past work that the more people see a diverse range of businesses posting online about what they offer, the more likely they are to see Durham as a place worth paying a visit.
So, if you are a current or aspiring local business, just fill in the form, and we will make contact to arrange a visit or chat!
We can always do more to keep improving our city, but we can also be proud of how many enterprising business people are already working hard to bring us enjoyable and attractive products, services and experiences.
By supporting and championing what we have that is already good – and encouraging more of it – we can all play our part in shaping Durham’s future.
