12 February 2026
Ignis Lodge today raised a formal public question at Warwickshire County Council Cabinet regarding the decision not to support its Midlands Campus proposal through the Warwickshire Investment Fund (WIF).
The proposal sought a £6 million commercial capital loan under the Property and Infrastructure (PIF) pillar. The Campus is designed to support veterans and young care leavers into accommodation, healthcare, skills and sustained employment, while generating financial return alongside measurable social impact.
The programme, co-designed with the communities it serves, represents a clear example of market failure. It delivers demonstrable public benefit but does not fit conventional commercial lending criteria without an anchor partner. The Warwickshire Investment Fund was established to act as that catalytic capital where private markets alone will not step in.
The proposed loan was structured to crowd-in £2.5 million of co-investment and to protect the Council through staged drawdown and risk mitigation. Without that anchor capital, the wider funding package cannot proceed and the programme stalls.
During Cabinet, the Council confirmed that the decision not to invest was based on financial pressures and the discretionary nature of the Fund. However, the specific questions raised by Ignis Lodge were not directly addressed. These included:
- How the refusal reconciles with the Council’s own Quarter 3 reporting on slow capital deployment and lagging job creation within the PIF;
- Why the current financial climate is cited as a barrier to a commercial capital loan when the Council’s non-treasury investment strategy treats capital distinctly from revenue pressures;
- What specific actions or timescales now exist to enable reconsideration or alternative intervention before the programme is irreversibly lost.
Darren Jaundrill, Founding Member and Chair of Ignis Lodge, said:
“We fully recognise the financial pressures facing local government and respect the Council’s discretion in investment decisions.
Our concern is one of clarity and consistency. The proposal is delivery-ready, revenue-generating and aligned with the Council’s own strategic reporting around jobs, inclusive growth and support for vulnerable people.
The questions raised today were intended to understand how that alignment was assessed and what pathway now exists for moving forward. Those questions remain open.”
Ignis Lodge has worked closely with Warwickshire County Council, Warwick District Council, the West Midlands Combined Authority and Homes England. It is also a signatory member, alongside more than 20 organisations, of a recent Council-approved bid led by Veterans Contact Point to develop a Valour Centre.
The organisation’s priority remains delivery for veterans, young care leavers and communities in the Midlands. However, without anchor investment or a clearly defined alternative pathway, the Midlands Campus project cannot proceed.
Further information on the Midlands Campus and its validated impact is available here and the session from the Cabinet can be watched by clicking below or a transcript is included below.
Ignis Lodge Statement and Question
Chair, thank you for allowing my questions, which are rooted in the Quarter 3 Integrated Performance Report before Cabinet today.
That report is clear that the Council is operating under sustained financial pressure, with delivery pace and capital deployment identified as ongoing challenges, alongside rising support demand for vulnerable adults and young people, and seeking interventions capable of supporting jobs, growth and resilience.
Against such context, I would like to raise the decision not to support Ignis Lodge, an organisation I founded to support veterans and young care leavers from crisis into long-term stability through accommodation, healthcare, skills, and employment.
Since July 2025, we have engaged constructively with the Council and regional partners to establish the Midlands Campus in Warwickshire. In October, we put forward a formal application to the Warwickshire Investment Fund (WIF) for a £6 million capital loan from the Property and Infrastructure (PIF) pillar, intended to crowd in co-investment of £2.5 million. Despite positive progress and reports, we were informed abruptly last week the proposal was declined by Panel. Two days ago, we received feedback which is vague and contradictory to the application we placed. This is despite the Council’s own risk statement for the PIF, presented to Cabinet last month, explicitly stating a tolerance for decisions involving significant risk where appropriate steps are taken to minimise exposure. Our engagement with the fund manager and officers put several such mitigations in place.
Chair, I recognise the need to manage risk. But this decision must also be judged against delivery outcomes. In Quarter 3, the Council reports particular challenge in converting support into sustained employment for people with health barriers and acknowledges slow progress against inclusive growth objectives. The Council’s own published WIF Business Plan shows deployment of the PIF pillar has been materially slower than intended and is lagging on several indicators including zero permanent jobs secured against a plan of 146 with only a year left to invest.
Ignis Lodge is delivery-ready. Within three to six months, we would safeguard over forty-one thousand square feet of commercial space, deliver sixty-two permanent jobs in year one rising to ninety-eight by year three, and generate a financial return with a validated measurable social impact of £5.59 for every £1 invested. Public money is required to anchor the co-investment. And therefore without it, the programme fails.
Therefore, Chair, my questions are:
1. Given the Council’s own reporting, how does Cabinet reconcile the refusal of a delivery-ready, revenue-generating investment for which the Council itself has previously issued a letter of support?
2. Why is the current financial climate being cited as a reason to decline a capital loan, when the Council’s non-treasury investment strategy explicitly treats capital differently?
3. And what specific actions will Cabinet now take, on what timescale, to resolve this contradiction; either through reconsideration or an alternative intervention; before this programme is irreversibly lost?
Chair, the answer is not just for Ignis Lodge. But for the veterans, young care leavers and communities watching to see whether words and policy will translate into action and leadership. Thank you.
Cabinet Response
(Cllr Howard, Portfolio Holder for Economy)
"Thank you for your statement. As you've recognised, the Council is facing sustained financial pressure. resulting in different decisions being made across the board. The Warwickshire Investment Fund is a discretionary activity undertaken by the Council and whilst funds are indicatively allocated to it, there is no presumption that we will spend any or all of it. Investment decisions are taken carefully looking at wide range of issues with the appropriate due diligence. I do applaud the intent and ambition and I am regretful that the Council's financial position prevents from contributing at this point in time."
(Cllr Finch, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Children and Families)
"Thank you Councillor Howard and I would just like to reiterate that veterans are a main focus for us as a Cabinet but also us at Reform. We work with many organisations like Veterans Contact Point and we believe we need more emphasis on supporting veterans especially in housing placements where they 've been put aside for many years for other people that are housing like asylum seekers and etcetera. We think more emphasis should be put on veterans and the support."