Rural Enterprise Hub - Minerva Mill

30/07/2026

Hello everyone,

It’s been a while since I last posted on the Rural Enterprise Hub page, and I wanted to share a quick update.

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the silence over the past few months. My family has been dealing with some significant health challenges, and my focus needed to be elsewhere for a while.

Many of you will know that the Rural Enterprise Hub was created to help rural businesses across Warwickshire access support, advice, training and growth opportunities. It was a privilege to work with so many businesses, partners and organisations, and to help build connections across the rural business community.

The funded pilot period for the Rural Enterprise Hub has now concluded, but I remain incredibly proud of what we achieved together and the relationships that were built along the way.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Rural Enterprise Hub, attended events, shared your experiences and engaged with the project. I’m incredibly grateful for all the conversations, collaborations and encouragement, and I hope this page has been a useful resource for local rural businesses.

For businesses looking for current advice, guidance and support, further information is available through the Warwickshire Business Growth Service:

https://business.warwickshire.gov.uk/

Wishing all our local businesses every success for the future, and I look forward to staying connected with the Warwickshire business community.

09/03/2026

🤝If you’re a business owner based in or around Shipston-on-Stour, join me from the Rural Enterprise Hub, alongside Kerry Smith from Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub and Heather Docksey from Warwickshire Skills Hub for our first business drop-in session in Shipston.

📅 Tuesday 10th March
🕙 10:00am – 2:00pm (no booking required – pop in anytime)
📍 Shipston Town Council Offices, Shipston-on-Stour, CV36 4HD

The Rural Growth Programme forms part of the Business Growth Warwickshire programme and is delivered by Rural Enterprise Hub on behalf of Warwickshire County Council.

Warwickshire County Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Shipston Town Council
Visit Warwickshire

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05/03/2026

👏A huge thank you to Kelly - Marie Steel and the Polo Club Hotel for hosting The Neighbourhood Network organised by Frances Husband DipPFS, yesterday and for the 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ treatment.

What an absolutely stunning venue, and to my surprise, open to the public… and me 😁

🤝Great connections, wonderful hospitality and a fantastic morning representing The Rural Enterprise Hub.

A wonderful opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces and build new relationships🤝

04/03/2026

👏Yesterday I attended the Stratford-upon-Avon High Street Roadshow held at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall, organised in collaboration with C&W Chamber of Commerce and Stratford-on-Avon District Council

💡A really useful morning with practical ideas around increasing footfall, building customer loyalty and creating a stronger presence on our high streets.

🤝Great to see local businesses in the room and real collaboration across Warwickshire. Always encouraging to see support being brought directly to our town centres.

Thank you to Sarah Humphreys from C&W Chamber of Commerce for the warm welcome and Kim Hulse of K Hulse Consulting for providing the training. Great to hear presentations from John Tonge and Anne Solomon of Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Aaron Corsi from Stratford Upon Avon BID, working in collaboration to support Stratford Upon Avon and Stratford Upon Avon District Towns.

It was also great to meet new businesses and catch up with some familiar faces too.

Warwickshire County Council
Visit Warwickshire
Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub

25/02/2026

📣Calling Warwickshire high street businesses, join C&W Chamber Business Support for their FREE High Street Roadshow.

💡Showcasing Project Warwickshire Business Support for retail, tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses across Warwickshire.

📍 Stratford-upon-Avon
🗓 Tuesday 3 March 2026

👉These free morning workshops are designed to help high street businesses:

💠Increase footfall
💠Build customer loyalty
💠Create a memorable brand experience

👍What you’ll gain: practical strategies to attract more customers, generate buzz through events, capture data for repeat trade, and strengthen customer loyalty.

👏If you’re looking for fresh ideas, inspiration and practical steps to boost your high street presence, now’s the time to book your place.

👉 Reserve your free place: https://tinyurl.com/em7dpc2x

Delivered by Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce as part of Project Warwickshire Business Support, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Warwickshire County Council.

Alcester Town Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Southam Town Council
Shipston Town Council
Visit Warwickshire

25/02/2026

A great morning at the RABI - West Midlands Region fundraising breakfast at Wethele Manor 🌾

Wonderful to see the farming community out in force, supporting such an important cause.

Lovely to catch up with Alex, Henry, Karen and Jane from Warwickshire Rural Hub thank you for the invitation.

And a special thanks to Matt Jeffrey from the Arthur Rank Centre for lending his breakfast for the photo… mine had already gone! 😄

HCR Wright Hassall
Kenilworth Agricultural Show

23/02/2026

📣 Calling all business owners based in Shipston-on-Stour & surrounding villages!

💠Are you a small or medium business, start-up, sole trader or entrepreneur based in this beautiful rural corner of Warwickshire?

💠Want to find out what FREE business support is available to help you start, grow or scale, right here in your local area?

Join us at our very first Shipston-on-Stour Rural Business Drop-In Session 👇

📍 Shipston Town Council Offices, New Clark House, CV36 4HD
📅 Tuesday 10th March
⏰ 10:00am – 2:00pm
👉(Pop in anytime-no booking needed)

The Rural Enterprise Hub is here to champion rural businesses across South Warwickshire, making it easier to access support.

🤝 Working alongside:

💠Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub
💠Warwickshire Skills Hub

Support available includes:

💡 Mentoring & tailored advice
💼 Grants & funding guidance
📈 Sales & marketing support
🌱 Sustainability & skills development
🌍 International trade advice
🤝 Networking opportunities

💚 Let’s keep Shipston thriving and strengthen Warwickshire’s rural economy together.

Whether you're starting up, diversifying, or building on what you’ve already created, we’re here to connect you to the right people and opportunities.

Love Shipston👉 https://shorturl.at/FDjLk

📞 01789 761334
📧 [email protected]

This project is funded by Warwickshire County Council.

Shipston Town Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council

19/02/2026

👏A BIG thank you to Michele Moss from Brighter Skies Transformational Therapy for organising yesterday morning’s Bidford-on-Avon Women’s Netwalking!

🥾 So glad I took the advice and dressed appropriately for all that mud and water!

👏 Great teamwork and even better connections, such a lovely morning.

📅 Next walk: Thursday 19th March, meeting at The Village Cafe in Bidford.

18/02/2026

🤝What a great 3 months its been, connecting with business owners around the South Warwickshire area.

Read the full article here 👇

Warwickshire County Council
Visit Warwickshire
Stratford-on-Avon District Council

The Rural Enterprise Hub (REH) has made a strong start following its expansion into South Warwickshire, building connections and supporting rural businesses during its first three months of activity. The REH is focusing on raising awareness of free, fully-funded business support by actively engaging...