When Warwickshire first became a fully-fledged member of the Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership last year, it was about representing the area and initiating partnerships.
This year’s presence has been about showcasing what we have to offer through our stand and the various events which we have staged, coupled with strongly promoting key assets.
In particular, we have been promoting the creative quarter in Leamington Spa and the sites which could help transform the town centre in Nuneaton.
The two are at different stages. Leamington is much further forward and Warwick District Council is actively seeking a development partner to help deliver the scheme. It involves the restoration of listed buildings and allowing the burgeoning creative businesses in the town to grow and flourish.
The sites in and around Nuneaton town centre do not represent a “scheme” as such at this stage but what they do give any prospective investor is a blank slateand a chance to shape a development from the very early stages.
But at MIPIM you are competing on an international stage and we have undoubtedly found that part of the job has been actually selling the benefits of Nuneaton in terms of the companies in and around the town as well as its excellent location and other assets.
It has been clear that while some people in the investment and development world know of south Warwickshire because of towns such as Stratford, Leamington and Warwick, they have far less knowledge when it comes to our patch north of Coventry.
And unless we do that initial selling job effectively, we stand very little chance of attracting the level of investment and the sort of developers needed to make any scheme become a reality.
MIPIM has allowed us to do that, and the conversations we have started here will continue over the coming months and – we hope – could be the start of some exciting times for Warwickshire.
