Why We Built Warwick & Leamington

If you've come across warwickandleamington.com and wondered what it actually is, here's the short version: it's a website, and soon an app, built for people who live in Warwick, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and the villages around them. The idea is simple. Make it easier to find out what's going on locally, and make it easier to support the businesses that make this area feel like home.

We started this because there wasn't really one place to find any of it. Offers were scattered across Facebook groups and shop windows. Events got shared by word of mouth, or missed completely if you weren't in the right group at the right time. Independent shops and cafes were competing for attention against national chains with far bigger marketing budgets, and it didn't feel like a fair fight. So we built something to even that out a bit, and give residents an easy reason to check what's on their own doorstep first.

Here's what you can actually do on here. Browse local businesses by category or town, and see who's independent, who's claimed their listing, and who's still unclaimed. Grab offers and discounts from local shops, cafes and services, just by showing your phone or a code at the till. Find out what's happening locally, from markets and fetes to fundraisers and community groups. Read local news that's actually about Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth, not filtered through a national lens that barely mentions Warwickshire. Enter free prize draws sponsored by local businesses, no purchase required, ever. And earn points every time you use an offer, which we'll keep building more uses for over time.

None of this costs the businesses a fortune. A cafe can post an offer, a shop can list a job vacancy, and it doesn't cost them anything beyond signing up.

We're also building mobile apps for iOS and Android right now, so you won't need to keep a browser tab open to check for nearby offers or events. That's still in progress, but it's coming, and it'll make all of this a lot more useful day to day.

One thing we're particularly excited about at the moment is our Founding Business programme. We're inviting a small, hand picked group of local independent businesses, spread across different trades and towns, to get involved early. Founding Businesses get 12 months of Premium completely free: a spot in the featured business rotation on the homepage, a place in our weekly email to residents, no limit on offers (with a push notification to residents every time they post one), eligibility to sponsor a Free Prize Draw, and no limit on job listings if they're hiring. The Founding Business badge stays on their listing for good too, even once that free year ends, as a permanent thank you for getting involved from the start. If that sounds like your business, message us here on Facebook or email hello@warwickandleamington.com and tell us a bit about what you do. You can read more about the programme here: https://warwickandleamington.com/news/want-to-be-one-of-our-founding-businesses-here-s-how

At the end of the day, we just want this area to feel a bit more connected. Not everything has to run through a big platform that doesn't know or care about Warwickshire. We're residents too, and we'd rather see the Saturday market do well, that new cafe get busy, and the community fundraiser hit its target, than watch it all get buried in a newsfeed that's mostly about somewhere else entirely.

If you run a business, a group, or you know of an event that belongs on here, get in touch. And if you're just a resident who wants to know what's actually going on nearby, have a look around. This is very much still growing, and we'd genuinely like to hear what you think.