BID Leamington

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

Huge thanks to Royal Priors Shopping Centre, Leamington Spa for hosting our workshops this year. And huge congratulations Rosa's Thai for your fabulous lantern too! More details below …

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

04/11/2025

Retail Crime Meeting Invitation.

Please find below an invitation to a retail focused crime and anti-social behaviour meeting we are supporting alongside the Warwickshire Retail Crime Initiative (WRCI).

This is a hot time of year, so this will be an opportunity to share information on local issues and find out what support is available. Managers, staff and security staff are welcome.

Date: Wednesday 12th November, 5.30pm
Location: The Royal Pug (upstairs), 141 Regent St, Leamington Spa, CV32 4NX

Representatives from WRCI, CCTV, and Warwickshire Police in attendance. We are also looking for feedback on the value of hosting this meeting, and whether the timing suits? In the past, some staff have found it difficult to attend during the day; however, we are happy to revisit this.

Please reply to [email protected] to RSVP so we can plan for your arrival 🌸

16/10/2025

Hey everyone … please see below details of a business networking and information event run by Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub and their partners. As well as some marketing advice they will also be providing information about their wider business support offer - which covers marketing, SEO, recruitment and forward planning. We appreciate the timing, so if you are unable to attend but would like more information on the wider offering, please let us know 🌸

📣 The High Street Roadshow is coming to Warwick!
📍 Court House, Jury Street, CV34 4EW
📅 Tuesday 21 Oct | 8:00–11:00am

Free event for high street businesses — learn proven marketing strategies, attract more customers, and network with local business owners.

☕ Tea, coffee & pastries included!
👉 Register now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/warwick-high-street-roadshow-in-person-tickets-1537297761989?aff=oddtdtcreator?aff=oddtdtcreator

Warwickshire County Council Stratford-on-Avon District Council Rugby Borough Council Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council Warwick District Council North Warwickshire Borough Council C&W Chamber of Commerce BID Leamington

24/09/2025

Please see the details below of a Free workshop with the team from Spaghetti Agency.

The impact of AI is here, and search and social media are changing forever. This workshop will focus on what your small business needs to do now to stay visible!

It is on Friday, 17th October, from 9am -12 noon at Woodland Grange, CV32 6RN, so you will need to spare a member of your team for a few hours. Full details of the workshop and booking links are in the comments below their post.

We were grateful to have Todd from Spaghetti present on AI at our Business Meeting in October last year; the feedback from those who attended was excellent. He is an expert at helping business owners and their teams make this new world of technology relevant to business needs.

Best wishes 🌸

🚨 70% SOLD 🚨

If you're waiting for a sign to book your spot at our How to Get Found on Social Search & ChatGPT workshop ➡️ this is it.

People are snapping up tickets because they get it:

✅ Search is changing
✅ ChatGPT is reshaping how we find stuff
✅ And being invisible online = game over

Wanna learn how to show up when your customers go looking?

We're spilling the beans, sharing the tricks, and cutting through the fluff.

30% of tickets left (check the first comment) 🎟️

16/09/2025

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) are installing new on-street parking machines in Leamington town centre over the next month.

You may notice some car parking spaces are suspended near an existing machine, then you will see 3 teams of contractors working on different aspects of the install at different times, over an approximately 2 day period. There may be noise for a short time if they need to cut the concrete.

Importantly, there will be some disruption to parking enforcement, as the machines will take 1-2 days to be operational. WCC have advised that enforcement has been adapted, and that Civil Enforcement Officers will check that there is a working machine on a street before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice. No ticket will be needed on a street with no working machine; however, the maximum stay times on that street will still apply. RingGo remains available if people wish to pay during this time.

In the post below is a little bit of what you should know about the machines. We are pleased that contactless card payments are available on all machines, and cash payments are also accepted on some machines.

You will find full details at the link in the post below. If you experience any concerns, please let us know or contact: [email protected].

We are pleased that we will have functioning machines in time for Christmas. Our work on parking continues, including lobbying for longer on-street waiting times in some areas. We always welcome your feedback.

Best wishes 🌸

🅿️ New Pay and Display machines are being installed across Leamington Spa over the coming weeks, providing customers with a number of ways to pay.

Here's a little bit of what you should know:

🪙 The new machines will accept a mixture of cash and contactless payment options, reflecting continuing demand for machines that accept cash payments.
🛣️ There will be a machine accepting cash payments on every road, these can be identified with a sticker, as seen below.
🎟️ All machines will continue to produce a ticket to be displayed on the dashboard.
📲 The RingGo cashless app will continue to work throughout the town.

To find out more on the new machines, including how they are powered, visit below:
https://orlo.uk/a3ikH

24/07/2025

Hi everyone,
The official deadline for the Warwickshire County Council survey on the Parade Masterplan is 11.59pm Monday, 28th July. So next Monday.

If you have not yet completed this, we encourage you to do so.

Masterplan details are at this link – to start the survey, scroll to the bottom of the page (or please see links in the post below): https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/bi/leamington-spa-parade-masterplan/

Thank you to everyone who attended our Open Meeting on the 9th of July. We welcomed the opportunity to test the feedback that we will be providing on behalf of members who have fed back to us. Please check your in-box, as today we emailed members with a few clarifications based on questions we have been asked. We hope this is helpful.

Please use this opportunity to comment in the survey. We will share details of the next steps when we are clearer on that.
Thank you 🌸

Last chance to have your say on the future of Parade 🗣️

Fill out our survey before the deadline on July 28, to have your say on the exciting future of Leamington town centre!

🗓️ Survey closes - July 28

Complete our survey here:
📝 https://orlo.uk/gSESN

Find out more on the plans:
💻 https://orlo.uk/E5SYV

15/07/2025

Hi all, as per our recent email, you have until tomorrow -11:59pm, Wednesday 16 July, to let the government know how they can support you more.

The survey link is in the post below or here: https://tinyurl.com/UK-Government-Survey

There are 7 questions – so it can be quick, and your answers are important.

We are also speaking to our MP Matt Western. Some examples of things we are asking for include:

• Lower VAT for Hospitality
• A reduced rates liability for Retail, Leisure & Hospitality (RLH) businesses
• Fairer taxation of large online retailers – ensuring an even playing field

Please respond today if you have not already. WHY? Because government budgets for the year ahead are set in October, so that's when changes to business rates, the rates multiplier, rates relief and VAT are announced. We know that existing levels of business rates relief (at 40%) is not sufficient, and that one third of hospitality sector businesses are operating at a loss, with many closing all over the UK.

Many thanks 🌸

27/06/2025

Hi everyone,

We have arranged a Business Meeting for our members and town centre business owners, to discuss the Masterplan for the Parade with us and Council officers.

Date: Wednesday 9th July
Time: 5.30pm for a 6pm start
Location: Royal Pug, 141 Regent Street (upstairs).

Please RSVP to [email protected] so we can plan for your arrival.

No worries if you have not looked at the plans in detail yet. The purpose of the meeting is to learn about the scheme, ask any questions you have and provide feedback in a private setting. We will also discuss the feedback we have had to date.

To view the plans now, please see this link:https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/bi/leamington-spa-parade-masterplan/user_uploads/parade-consultation-a1-final-boards-1.5-.pdf

To complete the County Council survey, please see here: https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/bi/leamington-spa-parade-masterplan/

There are also a variety of options to drop in and speak to the Council directly as follows:

Sunday 29 June, 10am-4pm
Covent Garden Quarter market stall,
Warwick Street, Leamington Spa, CV32 5JX

Friday 4 July, 10:30am-12:30pm
Community drop-in session.
Venue: Leamington Library, Royal Pump Rooms,
Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA

Wednesday 16 July, 10:30am-11am
Coffee morning talk
Venue: Leamington Library, Royal Pump Rooms,
Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA

Tuesday 22 July, 5pm-7:30pm
Community drop-in session.
Venue: 1 Mill Street co-working space,
1 Mill Street, Leamington Spa, CV31 1ES

Finally, please note, the event in the Pump Room Gardens this Saturday (11am - 3pm) is the WDC Armed Forces Community Day. There will be a tank and a plane flying over. Details are here: https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/armedforcesday

Best wishes, the BID team.

18/06/2025

A great idea ☀️. Please pop Oliver Leamington Courier an email with pics of your pub garden if you wish to feature … we will email what we have also 🌸