Kenilworth Town Council has awarded nearly £75,000 through the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund to begin a project to support local businesses through the disruption caused by the construction of the new high speed railway line.

With six out of the town's eight access roads proposed to be closed at some point in HS2's construction period, the town council wants to spread the message that 'Kenilworth is Open for Business'.

The project's main objectives are to support local businesses and safeguard jobs, employment and income, and to encourage more visitors and investment to the town, celebrating the fact that Kenilworth is a great place to visit, live, learn and work.

"This project will provide a real boost to businesses in Kenilworth during the building works" says Cllr James Kennedy, chair of the council's project management group, "and we are very pleased that our teams are able to start work in a Covid-secure way."

The project has three distinct, but integrated, work streams:

• 'Digital Kenilworth' – to increase digital skills within the business community and increase social media presence of Kenilworth

• 'Visit Kenilworth' – to increase the number of visitors and visitor spend to the town

• 'Locate Kenilworth' – to increase investment in the town and encourage people to move to Kenilworth

After a public tendering process Kenilworth Town Council is pleased to introduce the three companies who will be engaging with the local community to bring the project to fruition.

Net Visibility, a Kenilworth based marketing agency specialising in Google, Facebook and LinkedIn advertising, has been appointed to deliver 'Digital Kenilworth'. It will be researching the levels of digital skills within the business community, to identify key skills shortages and then developing essential training packages for local businesses to address these skills shortages.

The output will be to train small groups of business people depending on the levels of expertise and types of business. In parallel Net Visibility will be significantly enhancing the town's online presence and visibility.

Neil Curtis, MD of Net Visibility, says "As a Kenilworth based business we are delighted to be working on this project with Kenilworth Town Council. We have been based in the town since we started in 2003 and this project will enable us to not only help local businesses increase their digital knowledge but for us to advertise our fantastic town to interested parties far and wide."

Liquid, an award-winning integrated PR and marketing consultancy, has been appointed to deliver 'Locate in Kenilworth'. Dan Hill, Account Director at Liquid says, "Our team has significant experience in creating enduring campaigns for our clients and this is a fantastic opportunity to support the local businesses that are the lifeblood of a picturesque market town such as Kenilworth.

"We will be seeking a local video production company to deliver a film that emphasises Kenilworth's offering as a destination to live, work and relax."

Black Spiral Design, specialist tourism and design consultancy, has been appointed to coordinate the "Visit Kenilworth" work stream. It will focus on building up Kenilworth's ability to really engage with visitors and to provide an intriguing and unforgettable experience.

James Turner, MD of Black Spiral Design, says, "We are going to be developing exciting and innovative ways to tell Kenilworth's story for our visitors (and of course residents too), so keep an eye out for immersive trails, inspiring itineraries, interactive online campaigns and much, much more.

"However, we really need to capture Kenilworth's aspirations, knowledge and feelings to really cut to the heart of this so we'll be working with stakeholders across Kenilworth as we develop the programme.

"We know times are tough but want the 2021 and 2022 visitor seasons to be confident and exciting times for Kenilworth as well as ensuring we gather every ounce of benefit we can to support our place."