At tonight’s meeting of Warwick District Council’s Executive, a number of significant decisions were made that will see substantial investment in supported housing, business and the rural community.

Leper Hospital Site, Warwick

The Council’s Executive has agreed to make available up to £530,000 from Section 106 affordable housing funding to help deliver an exciting new development project in Warwick.

The Leper Hospital site has remained undeveloped for a number of years but now this development project will revitalise the site to provide a supported housing scheme as well as the opportunity to learn more about this important historic site that still contains the remains of St Michael’s Church and a 15th Century two-timber framed building known as the Master’s House. 

St Mary’s Lands

The delivery of the St. Mary’s Lands Masterplan took another step forward tonight as the Executive agreed to implement further improvements to the site. These include a new footpath/cycleway from Hampton Road to Bread and Meat Close in order to improve accessibility; renaming the current car parks known as Area 2, 3 and 4 to Hampton Road, Bread and Meat Close and Saltisford respectively; and the implementation of a “Park and Stride” initiative to encourage alternative use of town centre car parks and promote the associated benefits of walking through the town. 

The Council will also assist Hill Close Gardens with its Lottery Funding application and will support Racing Club Warwick with their improvements, subject to the submission of a business plan.

Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival 2018

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Business Festival, the Council has pledged its support once again for 2018.

The Business Festival, which will take place from 19 – 30 November this year, will deliver a number of events and activities to support the business community across Warwick district, including:

• Regional conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs
• Sector specific days, addressing some of the challenges they face
• Networking and business opportunities

The recommendation for supporting again this year is based on last year’s success which saw almost 5000 people attend over 114 events during the two weeks festival period. 99% of these events were rated as “good or excellent”.

The Council will support the festival with an intended investment of £10,000 in addition to hosting its own events which may, subject to change, include collaboration with BAFTA around the topic of coding and a focus on women pioneers to reflect 100 years of suffrage.

New village hall at Norton Lindsey

The council has tonight confirmed a contribution of £85,000 towards the cost of a new village hall at Norton Lindsey. 

The current village hall is unusable, and together the community have developed a business plan for a new hall to meet their local needs, working hard to raise the funds and obtain the necessary planning permission. The development requires a final investment of £85,000 to qualify for a national charitable grant, which the Council has agreed to fund.

This contribution enables the residents of Norton Lindsey to enjoy a range of community and sporting activities that will contribute to an integrated and active local community.