Monday March 24 2025
Swindon & Wiltshire News
Long-standing Swindon networking group Business Village is relaunching next month with a talk focusing on the regeneration of the town.
Julia Falcon, of the regeneration company Forward Swindon, will be guest speaker at the weekly, Thursday, breakfast group on September 4. She’ll talk about plans for the town and how changes will improve Swindon for those who live, work and shop there.
The event will herald the start of a new era for Business Village, which meets from 7.30-9am at the Holiday Inn Express, by the M4 junction 16. Following a summer break, there is a new-look format: a speaker every first Thursday of the month, the second
Thursday’s format will be round table and referrals, the third Thursday will have a business troubleshooting session and on the fourth there will be two short presentations from members.
Mary Hoffman, of Hoffman Male solicitors and a founder member of Business Village – which has been running for almost a decade – said: “We’re very much looking forward to relaunching our group with a more regulated format, which we believe offers something for everyone.
“Our central ethos, that we don’t charge a membership fee, remains, so business people can come along and pay just £10 for their breakfast and networking.
“Over the years, we’ve seen many, many businesses attend and a lot of business is done in and through the room. The majority of those businesses are from the Swindon area, so what better way to relaunch than with a talk which focusses on the town.”
Julia, Forward Swindon’s head of communications and marketing, will talk to the group about plans to close to cars the Fleming Way dual carriageway, which currently slices the town centre in two.
She said: “Swindon is a great place to live and work but there is no doubt it needs to continue to update itself. A pleasant town centre is an important ‘pull’ factor in persuading organisations and their staff to relocate into an area or stay and invest.”
To book for the Forward Swindon event, or any other Business Village meeting, visit www.businessvillage.org or just go along on the day. For more information about Forward Swindon visit www.forwardswindon.co.uk
