It takes determination for someone with crushed vertebrae to go into the house clearance business.
But Chris Belton will not let a little thing like back injury stop his new business venture.
Chris, 31, of Mold, has just had a helping hand from rural regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd, by receiving one of its Flintshire bursaries towards buying a Luton van to launch his new business.
Palmers Clearance and Removals – he named it after his mother’s side of the family – is Chris’ first venture in working for himself.
He admits he couldn’t have done it without the Flintshire Enterprise Bursary Scheme, a £130,000 start-up fund to help young people with a new business or community enterprise.
The Sbarc 16-30 project provides advice and funding for individuals and groups of young people aged from 16 to 30 years old living in rural Flintshire who want to start a new business or community enterprise.
It is funded by rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd as part of their ambitious £2.4 million regeneration programme for rural Flintshire.
This grant has received funding of £223,000 through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development.
Originally from Shotton, Chris started out in joinery when he left Connah’s Quay High but at 21 he went into the Army aid cadets and ended up part of the ground crew working on Apache helicopters in Yorkshire.
After three years he left with his HGV licence but no other skills he could use: “There’s not much call for someone who can re-fuel an Apache!” said Chris.
“I came back to North Wales and worked for a time in Corus Steel and then I just flitted around doing various HGV driving jobs, which I hated,” he said.
But then came his “stupid accident”. “I was at a friend’s house and his little daughter had one of those trampolines in the garden. I was under the impression I was still 19 and really fit. So stupidly trying to show off I told his five-year-old daughter I would do a backward flip.
“I didn’t make it all the way and I came down awkwardly on my shoulder, I was in agony.” Eventually Chris went to hospital where they found he had crushed verterbrae.
“I was off work for years. I went for a review and they wanted to sign me off again and I said I was bored and needed to go on a course or something,” he said.
Chris did some re-training for administrative work and put his skills to use by helping out at Flintshire Refurbs, the not-for profit community household goods recycling charity at Aber Park in Flint.
“I wanted to get some new skills behind me. I was doing the office work, running the store, doing stock and accounts. I was actually getting to see how the business was run from the inside,” he said.
It was working at Refurbs which gave him the idea for his own business.
But isn’t house clearance and removals a hard business for someone with a back injury?
“To be honest it is always going to be a problem, but providing you follow the proper lifting techniques it’s not that big a problem. I suppose when you get to 30 you pick up quite a few injuries, you’ve just got to get on with it.”
Chris can be contacted on 01352 753680.
Cadwyn Clwyd Project Officer Sian Roberts said: “We believe everyone has a business idea in them but not everyone has the confidence to try it out.
“Starting out in business is a scary prospect but we can take that fear away by being able to help financially and with expert advice and guidance.
Applicants can ask for up to 80 per cent of the cost of the support they need to a maximum of £1,000 with the remaining 20 per cent to be funded themselves, including using others time as the match funding.
The money can be used to buy equipment or pay for business premises or other services. In exceptional circumstances the scheme can even consider applications for more than £1,000.
For more information about Rural Flintshire Enterprise Bursaries contact Sian Roberts at Cadwyn Clwyd either by telephone on 01824 705802 or by emailing [email protected]
