BID Leamington

09/09/2026

We are always excited for this one! 🎉 We can't wait for the town centre to come alive with the sights, sounds and smells of the Leamington Food and Drink Festival this weekend!

🍽️ Just a couple of days to go 🍽️ Returning to Pump Room Gardens on Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 September, the festival is now in its 19th year and brings together around 120 exhibitors showcasing the best local and regional food and drink, plus:

🔪 Live Cookery Theatre with local chefs — including MasterChef 2025 quarter-finalist Darren Gurry and local favourites Aubrey Allen and Bia Rodrigues-Perry with the fabulous Kirsty Leahy compering!

👩‍🍳 Kids Make and Bake Cookery School with Anne Marie Lambert and her fabulous business Get Cooking.

🎶 Live music on the Bandstand stage, very kindly sponsored by Thomas Flavell & Sons Solicitors — featuring Abigail O'Meara, Easy 3, Cartoon Tear, All Night Long, Papillon Jazz, Electric Ian, Room 17 and And The Sunset (who is about to launch a new album featuring a duet with David Bradley in support of Birmingham Children's Hospital 💖)

💥Goodie Bags - as always, we have 500 branded 'collectable' tote bags filled with local business offers and goodies to give away. (Please drop any materials for the bags to us by Friday.)

This really is a celebration of everything that makes Leamington's food and drink scene so special. Our local businesses have been preparing for weeks to bring their very best - and we know they can't wait to welcome everyone. This festival is for them, and for our fantastic town, so let's make it one to remember.

👉 Please join us, bring a friend, and help us ! We can't wait to welcome you, and thank you to everyone for your continued support in making this festival what it is! 🙌

📅 Full entertainment schedule and info: www.leamingtonfoodfestival.co.uk

20/08/2026

Hi everyone,

We are heading into a busy weekend. Just a quick reminder about what is on – including the road closure and parking suspension details. This may be useful to yourself, your staff or customers.
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Saturday 22nd August – Warwickshire Pride Festival & March

This colourful event returns to the Pump Room Gardens from 11am – 6pm. You will see them setting up on Friday.
There will also be a Pride March on Saturday morning – that will involve a rolling road closure. The march will leave Beauchamp Road at 11:00am, turning onto Clarendon Avenue and then the Parade. They then turn on to Dormer Place and move on to the Pump Room Gardens where the Warwickshire Pride festival takes place.

Festival Information: https://warwickshirepride.co.uk/pride-festival
March Information: https://warwickshirepride.co.uk/pride-march
Organiser Contact: https://warwickshirepride.co.uk/contact

Lets
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Sunday 23rd August – Lloyds Tour of Britain - Women’s Bike Race

The Women’s Cycle Tour returns to Leamington on Sunday. This is a collaboration between British Cycling, Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council.

The Race: This year the race starts and ends in Leamington town centre – specifically the Newbold Terrace area (adjacent to Jephson Gardens).

The Timing: The race start is around 11am – and the end will be around 2.30pm -3pm. Details are here

The Fan Zone: There will also be a ‘fan’ zone set up by Warwick District Council on the Pump Room Gardens. Visitors will find free kids activities including a live screen, BMX displays, and a climbing wall plus some stalls. There will also be a presentation stage there for the finish.

The race has come to town in the past, so we anticipate some travel disruption at different times – please let any booked customers know they should leave a little more time (salons, restaurants etc). Full details and links are below. All of the town’s large car parks will be accessible and open – including Covent Garden, St Peters, Royal Priors, Chandos St plus south town car parks. Rosefield St CP, Euston Place and Hamilton Terrace Parking is closed.

There will be rolling road closures on the route the bikes take around Warwickshire. This includes on Parade and the route out of town via Kenilworth Road (around 11am) and the route back into town via Radford Road, Leam Terrace and Willes Road (around 2pm – although please note times may vary).

We engaged with organisers try to mitigate some impacts, including asking for Saturday night parking suspensions to be moved to only Sunday, which was largely achieved. We wish to receive your feedback following the event, as we will collate and pass on any comments.

Road closures & parking suspensions - details are here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tour-britain-women/tour-britain/5
Please read the link above if you access:
• Parade (from Dormer Place to Spencer Street part-closure 9- 11.30am and then 1.30-3.30 pm)
• Newbold Terrace
• Euston Place
• Newbold Street
• Holly Walk
• Hamilton Terrace

The Route & Times: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tour-britain-women/tour-britain

Interactive Route Map: https://ridewithgps.com/collections/10281039?privacy_code=PYdzcnrp97RvWUYUqsYxUJQCVUWadAnb

Alongside this, effort is going into encouraging visitors to support local businesses.

We hope this helps and wish you a good weekend.

Best wishes

27/07/2026

Woman’s Tour Cycle Race – Sunday 23 August + Information Event on Tuesday 4th August 6pm

Race Details

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) in partnership with Warwick District Council (WDC) are once again hosting the Woman’s Cycling Tour of Britain in Warwickshire on Sunday 23 August. Here are the website details: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tour-britain-women

The race will start and end in Leamington Spa town centre. This will involve a significant amount of infrastructure and some road closures. The route will go up Parade at the start and end on Newbold Terrace. WDC are hosting a family fun day on the Pump Rooms also.

We know that businesses need advanced notice to prepare. We have not seen this exact route used before, however past learning has shown it would be helpful to warn customers who are coming into town for appointments by car on Sunday 23 August to give some extra time. This is relevant to salons, restaurants etc.

Ways to Get Involved - Online Information Event - Tuesday, August 4 (6 PM - 7 PM)

WCC and British Cycling are keen to make this valuable to businesses and are offering social media promotion opportunities along with ideas and resources to get involved. To share information an explore this opportunity they are hosting an online meeting. The link to register for the information event is:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tour-of-britain-women-in-warwickshire-information-session-tickets-1993687877109

Learn how to make the most of the Tour of Britain by attracting visitors, bringing your community together and creating a fun family day.

03/07/2026

Hi Everyone,

Please join us at our next BID Business Meeting on Tuesday, 14th July from 5.30pm at Bricks 'n' Pieces on Park Street.

It will be a relaxed, fact-filled evening with a couple of short presentations and plenty of opportunities to catch up with fellow town centre businesses.

We're delighted to be joined by Henry from Vicinity, who'll share some fascinating insights into AI, along with an update on the Love Leam App. We'll also hear from Ann and Deborah from CRUK, who'll bring us up to speed on their work, and we'll share our exciting summer plans and what's happening across the town centre.

Expect some Bricks 'n' Pieces-style inspiration and a chance to connect, collaborate and support one another in a relaxed setting.
We hope you can join us for what promises to be an enjoyable and inspiring evening.

Please RSVP to [email protected] by Monday, 13th July, so that we can prepare for your arrival.

Drinks and nibbles provided. Details below.

On another note – we would be grateful if you can support our hospitality sector by signing this petition – VATs the Problem … it will take 10 seconds, and we would love it signed by anyone who has ever enjoyed a coffee, drink or meal out 😊!
https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/

Hospitality business, please also note a government update on licensing for Monday’s football game – with rules relaxed until 5am: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1kyr8747m9o

Have a great weekend 🌸

01/07/2026

Please support 'VAT's The Problem' - signing takes 10 seconds!

We are pleased to be co-chairing a new hospitality and retail-focused group representing businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire. The group recently met for the first time and agreed to support the 'VAT's the Problem' campaign launched today by UKHospitality.

Before you go further, please sign the petition to have VAT reduced to 10% here: https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/

It will take no more than 10 seconds - and can be supported by everyone! We all know a hospitality sector venue that has recently shut, we all know someone who works in one, and many of us started our careers there. They are our places - to meet, eat, drink, socialise and be human, and as this video shows clearly, the numbers no longer add up for them. Support is needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RughBo43QiI&feature=youtu.be

My sincere thanks to co-chair Dawood Ibtehsam and our group members Lydia Snape, Matt Crowther, John Barrett, Gurdip Chatha, Erwin Middel, Aaron Corsi, Darren Tosh - and very special thanks to Corin Crane, Lee Corden and the C&W Chamber of Commerce team for backing us.

For more details on the group, please see: https://bidleamington.com/new-group-backs-vats-the-problem-campaign/

Please reach out for more information - we want to ensure these sectors get the recognition and support they deserve🌺

18/02/2026

Business Rates evaluation 2026
From 1 April 2026, business rates valuations are changing.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) regularly updates the rateable values of all business and other non-domestic properties (properties that are not just private homes) in England and Wales. This is called a revaluation.
Rateable values are the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date. For the 2026 revaluation, that date was 1 April 2024.
Rateable values are used by councils to calculate business rates bills.
Revaluations are carried out to reflect changes in the property market, which means that business rates bills are based on more up-to-date information.
The next revaluation will come into effect on 1 April 2026.
For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-rates-revaluation-2026
Finding your rateable value
You are now able to see the future rateable value for your property. You can do this through the VOA’s https://www.gov.uk/find-business-rates on GOV.UK.

How to find the rateable value of a business property: compare it with other properties and challenge your property’s rateable value if it’s in Wales.

05/02/2026

Royal Leamington Spa Town Council has confirmed that the town will be entering a bid into the UK Town of Culture competition announced by the government.

The 2028 competition is the first of its kind across the UK and has been created to celebrate the cultural life and identity of towns. The title will be awarded along with central government funding to enable the delivery of a major cultural programme in the successful town.

Applications are open until March 31st with categories for small, medium and large towns with Leamington Spa being part of the medium category A shortlist of towns is expected to be announced later this spring

The strongest bids will progress to a shortlist, with each shortlisted town receiving £60,000 to help deliver their full bids for the competition. Three finalists – one from each of the three categories - will be chosen with the winner receiving a £3 million prize and the two runners-up receiving £250,000 to enable them to deliver parts of their proposed cultural programme.

Mayor of Leamington Spa, Cllr Ruggy Singh said:

“Leamington Spa is the cultural centre of this area – we have a vibrant arts scene, many diverse communities, fantastic parks and a fascinating history to dig into. Our exciting, inclusive bid will be taking all these elements and approaching them from a different perspective.

We need the help of the people who live and work here and everyone who loves Leam to shape our bid and to create and deliver our programme of events, activities and displays. We will be holding drop-in sessions in February across town for people to find out about Town of Culture and how they can be involved from the start.”

Drop-in sessions will be held at the following venues:

• Lillington Community Centre, 3 Mason Avenue, CV32 7QE – Wednesday 11th February 5-8pm
• The Sydni Centre, Cottage Square, CV31 1PT–
Monday 16th February 5-8pm
• Town Hall, Parade – Tuesday 17th February 5-8pm

All welcome to pop in to find out more and help us make Leamington Spa’s bid the best it can be!

An online survey is also available which people can complete to support the bid:

Royal Leamington Spa needs you – https://tinyurl.com/4rzbncrh

12/12/2025

FYI - there is FREE parking in the former Riverside House car park on Milverton Hill. Details below ⬇️ Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FJsq8dRTpP3QXykv8?g_st=ic 🌸

🎅 Enjoy free festive parking in Leamington Spa!

From now to 28 December 2025 (excluding Christmas Day & Boxing Day), we’re opening up 80+ free spaces at Riverside House, Milverton Hill to make Christmas shopping easier for everyone.

This temporary offer supports the town while works continue to lower the height of the Covent Garden multi-storey, which has reduced capacity in the nearby car park.

🕗 Open daily, 8am–7pm

More information and other parking options: https://orlo.uk/i3Eax