High Street in the spotlight at Towns Conference

"The event will be an invaluable gathering of people all pulling in the same direction - for the prosperity of Warwickshire's towns and high streets"

Sustaining and strengthening Warwickshire's towns and high streets will be in the spotlight at the third Warwickshire Towns Network annual conference in March.

Following the success of the previous two conferences, aimed at helping organisations and businesses make their towns and high street centres the best they can be, the third will take place at Warwick Racecourse on Thursday 21st March (9am-3pm).

A broad range of topics will be under discussion at a venue which could not be more appropriate for a meeting designed to support town centres. Warwick Racecourse, the sixth oldest racecourse in the world, hosted its first meeting in 1707 having been laid out to draw people to a town devastated by the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694.

Among subjects to be covered on March 21 will be: Retail on our high streets; place-branding; value of accessible towns;  and cultural opportunities including Coventry City of Culture 2021. It promises to be a must-attend event for place-makers, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), councils and town centre businesses throughout Warwickshire.

Among the speakers will be Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE (leader of Warwickshire County Council),Mike Adams OBE (chief executive of We are Purple  #PurpleTuesday Campaign), Martin Sutherland (chief executive of Coventry City of Culture 2021), Tim Lewis (brand & marketing strategist), Ojay McDonald (chief executive of the Association of Town and City Management) and Diane Wherle (marketing and insights director at Springboard).

Rachel Baconnet, Warwickshire County Council's team leader for Town Centres & Tourism, believes the event will be an invaluable gathering of people all pulling in the same direction - for the prosperity of Warwickshire's towns and high streets.

"It will be an interesting, informative and interactive networking event," Rachel said. "In combination with the speakers mentioned above we will also hear from local businesses and retailers about what is happening on the ground in Warwickshire.

"The previous towns conferences have been very successful, resulting in a wealth of knowledge exchanged and ideas taken back to respective organisations. I have no doubt the third conference will be just as stimulating and of great value to those working hard to make their town a great place to shop and visit."

To book a place at the event please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/warwickshire-county-council-12909861847