Wanted: Officer who can help secure funding for the regeneration of the Rugby town centre​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A bid officer is to be employed by Rugby Borough Council to help secure funding for the regeneration of the town centre and to help identify grants to tie in with the newly adopted climate change strategy.

The council failed to find anyone suitable to fill a one-year post when it advertised last summer and the new role will be for three years with a salary of £43,620. In the first year this will be funded by town centre improvement and climate change reserves but it is hoped that the position will be self-financing in years two and three.

Cllr Ian Picker (Con, Hillmorton), the portfolio holder for growth and investment, told this week’s full council meeting: “A bid officer will help us attract funding and the one thing I want to touch on is the decision to link it not only with our economic growth but also with the climate change strategy.

“We know there are pots of funding out there and we need to access those in order to deliver on our strategy.”

A report considered by councillors explained: “The new post will increase the capacity of the economic development team and will enable greater support to be provided to other teams internally.

“Without providing this additional resource there is a risk that the borough council will be unable to reach its full potential when implementing its recovery and environmental initiatives and when accessing external funding streams corporately.”

The proposal to recruit was given unanimous approval.