Building a Central Hub for Business Support Across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

About Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)

The Cambridge & Peterborough Combined Authority works to drive inclusive, sustainable growth across the region. Through initiatives like the Growth Hub, CPCA provides vital support to local businesses - from funding and grants to expert advice and strategic guidance.

The Challenge

CPCA needed a digital platform that would serve as a central point of access for businesses across the region seeking funding, support, and up-to-date information. Their previous website lacked the flexibility and usability required by both the internal team and the business community it aimed to serve.

Big Bear was approached to design and develop a modern, user-friendly website for the CPCA Growth Hub, with a focus on accessibility, ease of management, and SEO visibility across Cambridge and Peterborough.

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Our Approach

1. A Modern, Flexible WordPress Website

We worked closely with CPCA to build a completely new WordPress website tailored to their operational needs. The new platform was:

Clean and modern in design
Easy to navigate for users seeking business support
Simple for the in-house team to update and manage on a day-to-day basis

2. SEO-Optimised for Regional Visibility

We implemented a comprehensive SEO strategy to ensure the Growth Hub would rank for relevant searches related to business funding and support in Cambridge and Peterborough. This included:

On-page optimisation for key localised search terms
Clear content structure to support discoverability
Technical SEO best practices to support site performance

This ensured that the website served as an accessible entry point for those looking for grants, funding, and advice.

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3. Supporting the Region Through COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the website became a critical resource. Acting as an information hub, it provided businesses with timely updates, emergency funding opportunities, and clear guidance. The platform’s flexibility allowed the CPCA team to respond quickly to the evolving needs of the region’s business community.

These insights informed a new content strategy and helped CDP climb search rankings in key innovation categories.

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The Results

The result was a future-proof WordPress website that could be fully managed by the in-house team, backed by strong SEO performance that ensured local businesses could easily find the support they needed. During the COVID-19 crisis, the platform proved invaluable — serving as a reliable, responsive hub for critical updates and resources.

Since the project began in 2019, our ongoing collaboration with CPCA has continued to support their digital objectives and regional impact.

"Working with the Big Bear is always a pleasure, they have now delivered large, medium and small projects for us, all delivered with the same gusto and enthusiasm, I definitely see these guys as our "go-to" team."

Chris George

Cambridge & Peterborough Combined Authority

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