Welcome from Cllr Martin Watson

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

Sustainability is at the heart of all Warwickshire County Council strategy going forward and in our business support as much as anywhere. In this month’s WMB we report how the Warwickshire Business Energy Advice Service has helped businesses across the county become more energy-efficient, reducing costs and enabling their growth plans.

Serene Care, in Rugby and Just Nice Clean Cars, in Warwick, are two of the business to have benefited hugely from WBEAS support - and there is more in the grant pot ready to be allocated. Please do get in touch if your business could benefit…the deadline for applications is drawing near!

Sustainability is a key consideration across all county council operations, supported and advised by the expertise and experience of our Sustainability Team whose work is explained in this edition of WMB.

We also feature more excellent news in the recruitment of 20 new apprentice police constables with the support of the Apprenticeship Levy Share Programme. Training of new recruits is already underway and they take the number of officers in Warwickshire to its highest ever.

In other skills news, we report how three talented young people are gaining valuable work experience on supported internships at the County Council. We also hear about a creative business in Rugby which is taking art further into the community following support from Project Warwickshire.

We feature a recent breakfast networking event in Coleshill where lots of connections were made and pointers given to business support programmes available from Warwickshire County Council and our partners across the region. Those programmes are very wide-ranging and designed to address all the issues that face the fantastic small business community that plays such an integral role in the county’s economy and communities. We are here to help so please do get in touch if we can support your business.  

Martin