Coventry & Warwickshire
A city not connected to its rural hinterland, a bit lost in the crowded Midlands and that had lost its mojo, punching below its weight, a stakeholder community not well enough engaged and not exploiting its considerable assets and potential. Amongst vitally important external stakeholders viewed as blitz, bombing, concrete, Lady Godiva and they used to make cars!
Its journey has created an environment for doing things differently and success. Wider engagement has come with a Place Board and Champions Ambassadors programme, an unstoppable salesforce; collaboration, confidence and ambition are now prevalent. There is massive investment in the city centre and wider area, such as the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, major events and festivals dominate the diary, RISING has been created as a global platform to advance thinking and understanding about peace and reconciliation and the city has just begun its celebratory year as UK City of Culture 2021.
We now have a narrative that businesses, our universities and all those key stakeholders anchored in our place, are confident in and proud to promote. The promotion of Coventry and Warwickshire has for some time been viewed as a place responsibility and not solely relying on the local authorities to lead.
