Visit Knowle have had a busy 12 months in 2023 hosting events, promoting our village, delivering business support and looking at ways to enhance our street scene. Here’s what we’ve been up to.
Events
- We hosted a fundraising ball in April to fund the Coronation Celebrations and other work
- We enjoyed seeing residents come together to enjoy the artisan market, community stalls, entertainment, games and street food at the Coronation Celebrations in June, organised with the help of other community groups
- Our first artisan market on Station Road back in September was busy, with calls for more markets in 2024
- We’ve been talking to our friends at SolihullFest to secure Party in the Park returning to Knowle. We can’t wait
- We’ve worked with Knowle Library to commission a poem for Knowle and liaised with Knowle Society to invite people to attend a heritage walk to inspire the verse. We’re hoping to see the final poem soon
- December’s late night shopping event saw more businesses open late than previous years after crowds came to join Knowle Society, Knowle Parish Church and Father Christmas lead the countdown to the Christmas Light Switch On
Street Scene
- Visit Knowle secured Community Infrastructure Levy funding to support a “Gateway to Knowle” project near Wychwood roundabout that includes improved planting and signage
- 17 hanging baskets have been delivered to date and our volunteer knitters are busy creating enough flowers for another 14 baskets
- Eastcote Retirement Home have been regularly visiting the Parklet to tend to the flowers over the summer as sponsors of the planting
Business Support
- We monitor vacancy rates, sharing them with Solihull Council, Knowle Society & KDBH Neighbourhood Forum and regularly talk to stakeholders
- We have responded Solihull Council’s Economic Strategy Consultation Document on behalf of our members & we’re attending Solihull Tourism Stakeholders Group to discuss Solihull’s Tourism Strategy, ensuring places like Knowle are included in considerations
- We hosted five informal networking sessions
- We’ve signposted businesses to advice and support and shared useful information with members through a monthly newsletter
- We’ve been progressing discussions on parking provision in Knowle with Knowle Society, Knowle, Dorridge & Bentley Heath Neighbourhood Forum and Solihull Council.
- We organised our annual visit from a photographer to build a portfolio of images for local businesses and for Visit Knowle to use
Marketing
- We post almost daily on social media channels (@visitknowle on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) promoting the village, its businesses and events to 3,4k followers on Insta, 5.4k followers on Facebook)
- We run Christmas campaigns including featuring Father Christmas
- We were shortlisted for excellence in Sales and Marketing with Solihull Chamber
- We continue to share marketing opportunities with our members, such as arranging for 10 businesses to be interviewed by the Small Business Saturday On Tour team.
- We invite footfall into Knowle by promoting events including Coronation Celebrations & Artisan Market
Looking forward to 2023
Our High Street continues to the home to some thriving independent businesses. We look forward to another year of supporting our local businesses, celebrating what we love about Knowle and organising some events we hope you will love. In the meantime, save the following dates for your diary:
April 27th 2024: Fundraising Ball at Copt Heath Golf Club
June 29th 2024: Midsummer celebration & Party in the Park
If you’d like to get involved in projects, or have any ideas on what you’d like to see in Knowle, then get in touch!
