Rugby town centre business workshops: 8 dates and times

Rugby Borough Council has commissioned eight roundtable sessions for town centre businesses, starting on Monday 14 September. Retail goes first, hospitality follows on the Tuesday, and the night-time economy has a rare afternoon slot on the Friday.

The council announced the workshops on Tuesday, naming only two sectors and no dates. The booking form carries the full schedule, which is set out below.

The full timetable

Every session runs at Rugby Town Hall, Evreux Way, CV21 2RR.

The two mixed-sector sessions on 24 September are for businesses that cannot make their own sector’s slot, or that want a broader conversation. Booking is on a first-come basis while places remain.

Who is running them, and who asked for them

The sessions are being run by TSOS Unity Hub, the trading name of The Smarter Outsource Service CIC. Companies House records it as a community interest company, number 16130219, incorporated on 11 December 2024, with a registered office at 41 Farnborough Avenue, Rugby CV22 7EL. It is a company limited by guarantee, the standard structure for a CIC.

TSOS states on its own page that it was “commissioned by Rugby Borough Council” and is delivering the engagement independently “to provide an impartial space for honest business feedback”. The council’s announcement describes the workshops as independently facilitated, and says feedback and questions raised will be reported back to the council, with officers responding where appropriate.

TSOS also says each sector will be “represented in the final recommendations”, so this is an exercise that is expected to produce a written output rather than a listening session that ends in the room.

What businesses are being asked about

The council lists four areas for discussion:

• council services, including street cleaning, safety and commercial waste
• events and activities in the town centre
• what local government reorganisation could mean for the town centre
• feedback on The Rugby Town website

TSOS adds a fifth strand on its own page: what future town centre management could look like, and what practical and achievable actions could improve the town centre. There is a separate pulse survey to complete before booking a session.

Cllr Louise Robinson, Leader of Rugby Borough Council, said in the announcement: “Our town centre businesses understand the opportunities and challenges facing Rugby better than anyone. We want to listen to their experiences and make sure their views inform how we support the town centre.”

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, Deputy Leader, said: “A strong town centre depends on businesses, the council and other partners working together.”

Why this is happening now

Two things sit behind the timing.

The first is the ten-year town centre delivery plan that Cabinet agreed on 3 August, which commits the council to seeking control of the Rugby Central shopping centre and sets out an extended pedestrianisation project across Sheep Street, High Street, Market Place and Chapel Street. A traffic regulation order requires a formal consultation before any change is made, and none has been advertised yet.

The second is reorganisation. Rugby Borough Council is due to be abolished on 1 April 2028 and replaced by a new unitary authority covering north and east Warwickshire, a change we covered when the borough’s group leaders set out their priorities. Whatever town centre management model comes out of these sessions has to survive that handover, which is presumably why it is on the agenda.

What it means for you

• Book the sector session that matches how you trade, not what you sell. The split is unusual: retail and hospitality are both labelled “daytime”, and the night-time economy has its own slot at 14:30 on Friday 18 September, which is the only session not held in the evening. A bar that opens at lunchtime has a choice to make.
• Evening timings are deliberate. Six of the eight sessions run from 18:00 to 19:30, after most town centre shops have shut. If that still does not work, the 10:00 mixed session on 24 September is the only morning option.
• Complete the survey first. TSOS runs it as a two-step process: the pulse survey, then the booking. Both are linked from unity-hub.org/rugby-tce.
• There are two routes in if you would rather not go through the facilitator. TSOS takes enquiries at rugby@unity-hub.org or 07900 213157. The council’s own economic development team can be reached at towncentre@rugby.gov.uk.
• Ask what happens to the recommendations. Neither the council nor TSOS has published a date for the report, a terms of reference, or the value of the commission. Those are reasonable questions to put in the room, and we will report the answers when they are published.