About Us
What is the
Warwickshire Rural Hub?
The Hub is a business support organisation which is led by farm and rural businesses across Warwickshire and Solihull.
Established in October 2003 by a group of farmers who wanted to take control of their own destiny, the Hub has grown from strength to strength and now has a membership of over 1200 businesses. Membership is free of charge. All our activities are funded by a charitable trust, business supporters and business partnerships.
The Hub is recognised as an example of best practice for practical rural delivery – listening to the needs of rural businesses and responding to them.
You can contact our Co-ordinator, Jane Hampson, on info@ruralhub.org.uk or 07780 159291
Our Chair, Henry Lucas, can be contacted on henrylucas76@gmail.com
Our postal address is c/o Pleasance Farm, Chase Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1PR
What does
the Hub do?
The Rural Hub helps farm and rural businesses to develop into innovative, profitable and market-led enterprises. Membership is free of charge and members receive:
a monthly E-news containing the latest industry news and developments, noticeboard adverts and links to market-place companies;
access to Hub events on a variety of subjects such as;
- rural planning advice
- pond creation and management and accessing biodiversity offsetting funding
- managing farm woodland
- new technology in farming
- funding available for farm diversification
- Class Q regulations for planning applications
We are always open to hearing from members about the type of event they would like to see organised, so please contact our Co-ordinator, Jane Hampson, on info@ruralhub.org.uk with your suggestions.
Meet our Chair
Henry Lucas
Henry is a farmer from Kenilworth whose runs the 460 acre family farm alongside his son, Ian. The farm fattens beef cattle and grows combinable crops. The family also offer holiday accommodation in the main farmhouse and in barn conversions. All of the accommodation is heated by a wood pellet boiler. Henry is a very keen environmentalist and has actively managed wildlife habitats on the farm for over 50 years.
Over the years Henry has held several high profile voluntary posts such as Chair of Warwickshire NFU, Chair of the national Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and Chair of the Warwickshire Local Nature Partnership. In 2003 Henry was the driving force behind the establishment of the Warwickshire Rural Hub and he has been Chair of our organisation ever since.
Meet the Co-ordinator
Jane Hampson
Jane has been the Co-ordinator of the Rural Hub since December 2016 and she works part-time from her home office. As well as pulling together our monthly e-news for members and organising our events, Jane also updates the website on a daily basis, keeps our social media pages active and manages the book-keeping.
Prior to joining the Rural Hub Jane worked for Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group as their Personnel Manager. Outside of work Jane enjoys long walks with her dog Beatrice and gardening.
“The Hub helps to inspire its Members to do something different, to embrace change and learn from each other.”
Henry Lucas,
Warwickshire Rural Hub Chair
OUR SOCIAL VALUE RETURN
In 2020 the Rural Hub participated in a Defra sponsored project to measure the social value return of our work. But what is social value return? Put simply, it is the answer to the question “if £x is spent on delivering an activity, what is the value of that same £x in terms of wider benefits to the local community?” After participating in the project the Rural Hub was calculated as having a social value return of:
£9.84 for every £1 that is invested in us by our sponsor and business supporters
You can read the full report from the project here: Warwickshire Rural Hub Report
Or read the shorter impact report here: Warwickshire Rural Hub Impact Card
Would you Like to
Donate to the Hub?
A donation to the Rural Hub of any amount is always gratefully received. However, only donations of over £100 can be acknowledged on our Hub Supporter's page. A donation can be paid by cheque, BACS, standing order or by the Paypal link below. If you would like our bank details please contact the Co-ordinator on info@ruralhub.org.uk
Contact Us
The Warwickshire Rural Hub CIC
c/o Pleasance Farm, Kenilworth
Warwickshire, CV8 1PR
Email: info@ruralhub.org.uk
Tel: 07780 159291
Company Registration No: 7026157
Registered office: 23 West Bar Street, Banbury, OX16 9SA
Hub Chair
Henry Lucas
E: henrylucas76@gmail.com
Hub
Co-ordinator
Jane Hampson
E: info@ruralhub.org.uk
Tel: 07780 159291
Warwickshire Rural Hub CIC Directors
Henry Lucas (Chair)
Graham Collier (Deputy Chair)
Rosemary Collier
Amy Brant
Karen Ellis
Carrie Robbins
Alexandra Robinson
Hub Steering Group Members
George Bostock, NFU
Andrew Cook, Farmer
Mark Dickin, Ellacotts Accountants
Emlyn Evans, Squab Hall
Marcus Faulkner, Sheldon Bosley Knight
Tom Newbery, Highfield Farm
Alexandra Robinson, Wright Hassall LLP
Disclaimer
The Warwickshire Rural Hub accepts no liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from any action taken in reliance on the information contained on this website.
© 2018 Warwickshire Rural Hub. All rights reserved.