Rugby business roundtable invites traders on 14 September

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-09-01 15:49 3 min read

A rugby ball positioned for a kick on a lush green sports field.

Town centre businesses in Rugby are being invited to the first Business roundtable on Monday 14 September at the TSOS Unity Hub at the Town Hall. Rugby Borough Council asks prospective attendees to book a place through its roundtable page.

The council has not stated a start time or price. Its announcement also provides no street address, transport guidance or accessibility information, so businesses should confirm any required arrangements when booking.

The workshop gives town centre traders a place to share their experiences and suggest ideas for strengthening Rugby’s commercial centre. It opens a series of discussions as the council begins delivering a ten-year regeneration plan covering businesses, empty shops, public spaces, events and the outdoor market.

Traders can bring practical experience to the plans

The roundtable is aimed specifically at town centre businesses. Rather than focusing on a single building or project, the session is intended to collect experiences and ideas from the businesses operating amid the regeneration work.

That feedback comes as several visible projects move forward. Improvements to St Andrew’s Church are intended to make it a focal feature of the town centre, while The Stitch project would create a public square and connect Market Place with Old Market Place. The council also plans a cultural quarter in Old Market Place.

Rugby business roundtable invites traders on 14 September

New seating, extensive planting and biodiversity-focused Living Pillars are among the public-space improvements expected to begin within weeks. These schemes sit alongside longer-term discussions concerning Rugby Central shopping centre, Brotherhood House and the former Herbert Grey College site.

Business support is already part of the programme

The council’s progress update records several measures already affecting local traders. Five long-empty shop units have been let through the Government’s High Street Rental Auctions, while ten units have received council grants for shopfront improvements. A further nine grants have been confirmed for 2026/27.

A council-funded town centre events programme worth £275,000 has increased average footfall by between 10 and 20 per cent compared with the previous year’s programme. The authority also says £95,000 has been credited to 102 town centre businesses through its business-rates relief scheme.

Council leader Louise Robinson said the authority was committed to working with the business community throughout the ten-year delivery period. Deputy leader Jerry Roodhouse described the approach as a combination of practical action now and preparation for larger future projects.

Those figures and projects give traders specific ground to discuss at the workshop: the use of empty units, the appearance of shopfronts, events, public spaces and the wider conditions that influence visits to the town centre.

Booking a place at the Town Hall workshop

Businesses considering the session can also consult this guide to Rugby business workshops for related local coverage.

The first Business roundtable is scheduled for Monday 14 September at the TSOS Unity Hub at the Town Hall. Attendance should be reserved through Rugby Borough Council’s roundtable booking page; businesses should use that process to confirm the arrival time and any other arrangements not included in the announcement.

Source: Rugby Borough Council

Context & actions About this article

Source check Source trail

The event preview uses the date, venue, audience, booking route and regeneration context published by Rugby Borough Council.

Checks

The source names Monday 14 September as the date of the first Business roundtable.
The venue is identified as the TSOS Unity Hub at the Town Hall.
The invitation is directed at town centre businesses and asks attendees to book a place.
No start time, price, street address, transport guidance or accessibility details were sup...

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