Three Holywell business owners win £1000 digital skills bursaries

Three winners from the Holywell area have each been awarded a £1,000 Digital Bursary as part of the ‘Holywell Digital Town’ initiative.

The winners are Helen Ryles-Owen of Tower Crafts, Debbie Anne Turnbull of River And Sea Sense, and Alan Downes of Rough Cuts.

Each winner will be using the funds to improve digital skills in the region, and have been invited to join MP David Hanson at an event at the Houses of Parliament in London later this spring.

The initiative is part of ‘Holywell Digital Town’, a program designed to help the town thrive through the use of new technology. The project is a partnership between Square, Holywell Town Council and Delyn MP David Hanson.

It has seen the number of businesses in Holywell accepting card payments increase to 91%.

The winners were selected by a panel of three judges – David Hanson MP, Sarah Harvey, UK Lead for Square, and Rob Saunders, Managing Director of Holywell-based design and web agency Daydream Design.

Sarah Harvey, UK Lead for Square, who funded the bursaries, said:

“The quality of entries were very high. We are delighted to have chosen three winners who we feel will not only put the funds to good use with their projects, but will also be ambassadors in their community and help others to use technology to help the town thrive.”

David Hanson, MP for Delyn, said:

“There’s been a real sense of energy and positivity in Holywell in recent months and projects like ‘Holywell Digital Town’ have helped contribute to that. I’m pleased that we have three local winners and look forward to welcoming them to the Houses of Parliament in April and hearing more about how the bursary has impacted their digital skills.”

How the winners plan to use their bursary

• Helen Ryles-Owen of local shop Tower Crafts will use the bursary to develop a bilingual online presence using a website accepting online payments and managing stock in real time. The website will also include local tourism and activities in a community notice board.

• Debbie Anne Turnbull of River And Sea Sense will use the funds to support the update www.watersafetymap.co.uk, an educational resource set up to help young people learn about water safety.

• Alan Downes of Rough Cuts will enrol on a return to study course in graphic design or video. This will in turn help him to support local charity, business and schools with digital media support.

The ‘Holywell Digital Town’ reception will take place at the Houses of Parliament on April 25th from 4-6pm.

It will be a showcase of the town’s initiative and provide a chance for other MPs to learn about it. Other local business owners interested in attending the event should email RSVP-UK@Squareup.com.