Welcome from WCC Strategic Director for Communities, Mark Ryder

Hello and welcome to the March edition of Warwickshire Means Business. 

Spring is in the air, at last, and this month we have lots to report which underlines how much there is to be positive about regarding our local economy. Despite all the ongoing challenges and those of recent years, our business community remains strong, resilient and Warwickshire County Council (WCC) continue to do all that we can to offer support.  

This month is the third birthday of Warwickshire Skills Hub so we celebrate its amazing achievements. The work of the talented and creative Skills Hub team, under the inspiring leadership of Fay Winterburn, has benefited so many businesses and individuals in it's first three years, Congratulations to Fay and the team for achieving this milestone. 

Just as passionate and productive in their field are Aaron Corsi’s team in Place, Projects and Partnerships. They work imaginatively to support and improve our town centres and this month’s Warwickshire Towns Network Conference was an outstanding success. Communities throughout the county came together with expert speakers to consider what more could be done to ensure that our Towns and Villages remain vibrant centres of economic and social activity. The ideas, passion and energy at the conference demonstrated how Warwickshire has stood up so strongly to challenging times and is as well-equipped as any county in the UK to ‘go again’ post-pandemic. 

In this edition we announce some great news: Nuneaton has been named as the town with the best growth potential in the UK, and that 2022 was a record year for start ups in our county which is cited as ‘evidence of the ambition, creativity and resilience of entrepreneurs in Warwickshire.’ 

We bring the inspiring story of how Top of the Rock is, through music, bringing jobs to local people and joy to children in local schools - and the catalyst was an Adapt & Diversify grant from Warwickshire County Council. We also hear about the great work of The Smarter Outreach Service who are making a real difference after support from WCC’s Local Enterprise & Communities Fund, delivered by Coventry & Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust. 

There is so much business support available from ourselves and our partners in the region and more is coming on stream all the time. This month we launch the Property and Infrastructure Fund, the third and final strand of the Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund.  

Please do click on the links throughout this edition of WMB to get straight where you need to go for information - or visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/business-support 

MARK