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Vote No to Rugby First BID, Rugby (2026)

11/03/2026

Bit of a longer post, but hopefully my last for the foreseeable future…

Last night we had the long-awaited transition meeting hosted by Rugby Borough Council, and a brief outline of what was discussed has been posted on the Rugby Business Group page.

📢 No Immediate BID Plans
You heard it directly from Rugby Borough Council - one of the key points confirmed during the meeting was that there are currently no immediate plans to introduce another BID in Rugby.

📩 Page Staying Open
That said, this page will remain open and active, and you are still welcome to PM me here if you have any questions or need any help.

⚠️ Consultants & BID Surveys
Just a word of awareness for businesses: if you hear rumours of companies such as Heartflood, Mosaic or Lotus contacting businesses or carrying out surveys - either in person or over the phone - please be aware. These are the types of consultancy firms often employed by councils or indeed individuals to explore the introduction of new BIDs.

If anyone does hear anything like that happening in Rugby, please let us know. Rest assured that the same four of us who scrutinised the previous proposal will be watching closely and will examine any future BID proposal in exactly the same way.

Thank you again to the team behind this page.🙏

💷 Town Centre Funding
One point raised last night was that the Council currently has £500,000 allocated for the town centre following the end of the BID. There is a certain irony here, given that last year the BID cost over £1 million, with around £600,000 effectively coming from the Council - meaning the Council itself now has a significant reduction in costs.

However, it should never be forgotten that town centre businesses have funded over £18 million through the BID over the last 20 years, paying the highest UK Bid Levy, yet the town centre is arguably in a worse state now than it was then.

🏬 Possible Business Rate Relief
It was also mentioned last night that there may be money set aside for business rate relief. I will be following this up by email, along with a number of outstanding questions relating to Rugby First.

❓ Outstanding Questions
For example:
• What happens to the £105,236 currently held in Rugby Town Centre Company Ltd, a company managed by Rugby First?
• What happens to the toilet block on Clifton Road, owned by Rugby First and currently used for storage?
• What happens to the assets of Rugby First, including the radio system used by businesses and Pubwatch? Businesses have paid for them 100's of times over.

Technically, any funds or assets within Rugby First ultimately belong to its levy payers - the businesses who funded it. These are questions that deserve answers, and I will be asking them.

🏛 Upcoming Changes & Elections
It was also mentioned that the Borough will be undergoing changes over the next 18 months, so this period has very much been described as a transition. With local elections approaching, we will watch what changes may come to town centre management.

⚖️ Accountability
I will also be mindful of those councillors who were involved in covering up the fraudulent issues that came to light in the review carried out in 2015 and uncovered in 2021/2. Businesses deserve to know who is standing again and whether they can be trusted.

📄 Insolvency Investigation
If I receive any news from the Insolvency Service, who are currently reviewing matters relating to Rugby First, I will of course post updates here.

🤝 Staying Involved
Going forward, I would encourage businesses to follow the Rugby Business Group fb page, where updates and information will continue to be shared. If any of you are willing to join that group and help actively push Rugby Borough Council for answers, updates and transparency, we would welcome your involvement at our meetings.

🙏 Thank You

I do urge businesses to give Rugby Borough Council time and patience during what they have described as a “soft landing” period - Cllr Moran’s phrase from last night - and acknowledge that they are the administration that ultimately pulled the plug on Rugby First.

But equally, you are the heart and soul of this town, and you deserve far better than what Rugby First delivered over the last 20 years so keep asking the best for our Rugby Town Centre.

And thank you to everyone who supported this campaign, this page and spoke up. It proved that when businesses stand together, they can protect their town.

Thank you
Angela

The Rugby Town
Rugby Borough Council

12/02/2026

🚩A number of town centre businesses have been asking what the next steps are following the decision that Rugby First will cease on 31 March 2026.

We have now had an update from Councillor Louise Robinson (Cabinet Member, Growth & Investment). She has confirmed:

The Council has been working on an interim plan for the next financial year to ensure continuity of key services once Rugby First ends.

They are also considering how best to manage communications and meetings with different groups of businesses.

A letter has been sent to all town centre businesses (2nd class post) and should be landing by tomorrow.

The letter sets out where things are up to and includes an invitation to attend a meeting.

Once the letters have landed and the Council has had some early feedback from businesses, a meeting is planned for all town centre businesses.

Policing update: We wrote to Rugby Police several weeks ago regarding town centre arrangements post-31 March, they have confirmed they have now emailed the Inspector and Borough Commander and is hopeful we will receive a full response next week. It’s also positive that a number of businesses have noticed an increased police presence in the town centre recently, which is reassuring.

✅ Important: Going forward, to keep everything in one place, we will share any town centre business updates/notices we receive on The Rugby Business FB Page (open to all town centre businesses).
Please follow The Rugby Business Group FB Page so you don’t miss updates and feel free to invite other town centre businesses to follow it too.

If you’re a town centre business and don’t receive the Council letter by early next week, comment below or message and I’ll flag it so nobody is missed from the comms list.

22/01/2026

📢 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞:
Now the dust is settling, it’s clear Rugby First will end on 31 March 2026 and the BID levy will stop from 1 April 2026.

⚖️ One key point to be clear on:
Rugby Borough Council made the decision not to proceed to the renewal ballot, because the renewal proposal was confirmed as non-compliant with the BID regulatory requirements. That’s simply the position.

💷 𝐒𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬:

We’ve been through the Rugby First accounts on Companies House from 2006 onwards. Excluding this year, Rugby First received £18,055,992 in gross income mainly funded by town centre businesses.
Over £18 million… and the town centre is still around 25% empty, thats the sad part.

🤔 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞:

We do want to recognise Rugby Borough Council for making a clear decision and stepping up to lead place — as other councils do. The town centre now needs confident, joined-up leadership and delivery. This is the moment for the Council to set out the plan and take the lead.

🛡️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬?

In other towns, rangers/wardens are funded directly by the council. The same applies here: if Rugby Borough Council believes Rangers are a worthwhile investment, it can fund them; if not, it won’t. It’s a decision for the Council as part of place leadership.

❤️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐮𝐠𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Rugby won’t rebuild itself online. It rebuilds when we show up — shop local, eat local, attend events, and back the people working hard to bring life back.

🙏 𝐀 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐤:

Before posting something negative about the town, just pause. Is it helpful? Confidence drives footfall, and footfall keeps Rugby alive.

✅ 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲:
➡️ Follow The Rugby Town (official events page)
➡️ Share it with friends/family
➡️ Turn up

Let’s fill the town with people — not just posts. Show up. 👣

15/01/2026

🙏𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐁𝐘'𝐒 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒🙏

Before anything else, I have to thank each and every one of you in the Rugby Town business community. Your support was everything.
To every business owner I walked into, who listened, shared their own story, and stood with this campaign-thank you. That support is what kept me going. You are the heart of this town, and this victory is yours.

🎉 𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐁𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓🎉

🏆 Following intense public scrutiny over the crippling and unjust BID levy -including the 6.25% tax on local heroes like Rowlands Pharmacy and Libertine Burger-Rugby Borough Council has pulled the plug.

📜 The Council has announced it will NOT proceed to a ballot for the Rugby First BID renewal. Why? Because Rugby First couldn’t even put together a legally compliant proposal.

Let that sink in:
After years in charge, collecting levies under disputed terms, they were incapable of meeting basic regulatory requirements.

This isn’t just incompetence-it follows serious allegations of:

Falsified documents

Financial unaccountability

A levy system that crushed independents while letting giants pay pennies

Now, it’s over to the Government Insolvency Team to complete their investigation. Let’s see where the paper trail leads.

🗓️ The current BID term ends 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, no more BID levy.

A win for Rugby’s businesses.
A total failure for Rugby First’s leadership.

👏𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌👏
This outcome would not have been possible without the incredible team behind this campaign. Your deep knowledge of compliance, BID regulations, and legal procedure was invaluable. You turned evidence and questions into action.

I also want to pay special tribute to a certain Rugby business owner who first started demanding answers all the way back in 2015. You know who you are. Your early courage and persistence laid the groundwork for everything that followed.

An ex employee who had a massive injustice - her campaign is just beginning. You have us behind you.
This victory belongs to everyone who spoke up, shared the story, and refused to accept an unfair system.

👉 Read the Council’s full statement: https://www.rugby.gov.uk/.../rugby-borough-council-will...

🙌𝐍𝐎𝐖, 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍 – 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

A huge thank you to Rugby Borough Council for listening, acting, and closing a chapter that held our businesses back. Now, let’s write the next one.

The best way to rebuild a vibrant Rugby is to show up and support it. I urge everyone to get behind the events, markets, and initiatives organised in our town centre.

But first, we’ve got to know about them.

Right now, The Rugby Town page – the official page promoting town events – has only around 8,400 followers in a borough of 110,000+ residents.

No wonder people say: ❝ “We didn’t even know this was happening!” ❞

Meanwhile, community pages like Spotted Rugby have over 60,000 followers. Imagine if that energy was channelled into supporting what’s actually happening on our streets.

So, if you want to know what’s on, support local, and help Rugby thrive, here’s how:

✅ FOLLOW “The Rugby Town” on Facebook
✅ SHARE the page with friends and family
✅ SUPPORT the organisers who are working to bring life back to our town

Let’s fill the town with people, not just posts. Let’s follow the right page, and show up.

15/01/2026

📍More BID Levy Injustice: Libertine Burger vs. Asda – 100 Yards, Worlds Apart 📍

🔦 The spotlight now turns to Libertine Burger, an independent restaurant, charged the UK’s highest BID levy for a restaurant at 6.25%.

Just 100 yards away, Asda -a multinational supermarket giant a - pays the lowest BID in Rugby of 1.92%

Let’s be clear:

· Independent business: pays 6.25%
· Global corporation, a short walk away: pay less than a third of percentage 🤷🏽‍♀️

We ask Rugby First:

How do you justify the UK’s highest local business tax on a hard-working independent restaurant, while a retail giant down the street pays the lowest?

Where is the fairness in a system that crushes small businesses and lets the biggest operations off lightly?

Rugbians - have a meal at this restaurant - they are one of three, their other resturants are in Leamingron Spa & Stratford. The staff are lovely and they deserve our businsses after trading with odds stacked up against them.

Rugby First, justify this.

14/01/2026

📍The UK's Highest BID Levy is on a Rugby Town Life-Saving Pharmacy📍

🔦Todays spotlight falls on Rowlands Pharmacy (behind Westside Medical) is charged a 6.25% BID levy-the highest rate in the UK -over TRIPLE the recommended amount.

Lets repeat that - 6.25%

This crippling charge targets a life-saving healthcare service, and is over triple the Commons' recommended amount of 1.5% - 2 % in extreme circumstances.

We ask Rugby First:

How can you justify imposing the UK's highest local business tax on a critical community health service?

Rugby First, justify this.

13/01/2026

📍Why Would This Attract Investment In Our Town Centre?

🍕Today’s RUGBY FIRST BID spotlight falls on Pizza Express.🍕

A stark fact: Pizza Express in Rugby pays a BID levy of 6.11%. This is the THIRD HIGHEST BID LEVY in the UK

Now, contrast that with the official House of Commons Select Committee recommendation that BID levies should be 1.5% - 2% at most.

When a national chain is charged over three times the recommended rate, it doesn't attract investment—it deters it. How can Rugby compete for business with a model so fundamentally out of line?

It's time for a fairer, sustainable model that genuinely supports our town centre.

10/01/2026

📍MAJOR UPDATE on the Rugby First BID Investigation - SATURDAY 10th January 2025📍

We want to update everyone on the serious situation regarding Rugby First BID, following our recent exchange with Councillor Moran on Town Independents fb page.

The Background:
we, along with many town centre businesses, have raised serious and repeated concerns about Rugby First's governance and financial transparency. For years, basic questions about how the BID levy is spent have gone unanswered.

The New Evidence:

A crucial development has now occurred. On 18th December 2025, the Insolvency Service’s Investigations & Enforcement Services formally acknowledged my complaint and opened a case (PV/7343/2025) into Rugby First Limited.

The core of the complaint focuses on the company's apparent failure to maintain a legally required Register of Members and the presentation of a document that does not meet statutory standards. This is not a minor administrative issue; it goes to the heart of accountability for an organisation that collects a compulsory levy.

The Councillor's Response & My Reply:
When I shared these concerns, Councillor Moran acknowledged historical governance issues but stated it would be legally inappropriate for him to comment on matters currently "being assessed."

Given the Insolvency Service's involvement, I have responded. The key points are:

· This is no longer just a local dispute; it is a formal government investigation.

· It validates the long-standing claims of cover-ups and unfair treatment of businesses.

· The Council must now, at the very least, confirm it will not vote in support of the BID while this investigation is ongoing.

· Our town centre deserves management that operates with morality and conscience.

What This Means:
The Insolvency Service has confirmed they will not provide ongoing updates, but they may issue a public statement if they take serious action, such as winding up the company.

This development proves our concerns were valid and serious. It is unacceptable to proceed with any BID renewal ballot while a government body is investigating the company's fundamental compliance with the law.

We continue to await a clear and principled statement from Rugby Borough Council

10/01/2026

SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE exposes why Rugby's town centre is struggling. 🚨

Our team has found a House of Commons briefing paper from September 2024 that states the national recommendation for a BID levy is typically between 1.5% and 2%.

The Government states that “The industry Criteria ask that up to 1.5% is the expected norm, with some allowances made for up to 2% in exceptional circumstances”

So why for 20 years have our small, independent businesses in Rugby been forced to pay double or triple the amount of hard earned money in levy payments that most of the rest of the UK have been paying!

Rugby BID charges 4%, 5% or even over triple at 6.28%, businesses paying thousands of pounds over the years.
Is this value for money !

Unless, of course, you are Rugby School (paying 2.38%) or Asda (paying 1.92%). The largest properties have had their contributions CAPPED.

Rugby residents, now you have your answer. This is why we have lost so many of our beloved town centre shops over the years.

Rugby First and Rugby Councillors who oversaw this for two decades – Shameful. Where were, and where are, your morals?

To the brave independents still holding on in our town centre: you are amazing to have lasted against the odds stacked up against you💪👏

It’s time to end this unfair system.

📍🙏Please support our Town Centre Businesses - they need us more than ever.📍

09/01/2026

So is this fair?

📚📍Rugby School RV £1,050,000 - capped levy 2.38% - they pay £25,000

Lawrence Sherriff School RV £375,000 - levy 5.33% - they pay £20,000

If we were Sherriff Head we would be livid - and to cap all this off - Lawrence Sherriff School have to pay this money from Government funding for education then given to a private company with no accountability ! 😳 It stinks😡

08/01/2026

😡 After a 3-month wait, we finally have the FOI list for BID Levy payers.

The unfairness of the Rugby BID levy is now in black and white. We defy anyone to argue this is fair.

❓ How is this right?
• Asda pays 1.92%
• Yum Yum World pays 5.2%
• The Black Swan Pub pays 5.65%

💡 Let's be clear: Forget being the second highest as reported before, town businesses PAY THE HIGHEST BID LEVY IN THE UK.

🤬 The system is rigged against our small town businesses & pubs. Our fight for transparency took months. The fight for fairness starts NOW. We will scrutinise the Levy payers list & give more information. And those that do not pay at present- just under the threshold, there is a list of your businseeses too👀

➡️ If you think this is acceptable, we challenge you to explain why.

Share this if you believe Rugby's small businesses deserve better.

Vote No to Rugby First BID

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