Here's a message from Lichfield BID Chairman, Paul Maddox owner of The Scales and Three Spires Coffee Shop explaining why it's so important to vote YES for a Lichfield BID.
Despite it's renowned beauty, charm and appeal, Lichfield City and it's businesses face challenges to grow, thrive and survive.
With escalating costs and squeezed margins, we know that asking you to vote in favour of paying a levy to create a Business Improvement District (BID) in Lichfield is a big ask. That said, without a BID in Lichfield, we believe that we face an even more uncertain future, in which nearby BID towns and retail parks will steal a march on our city, taking our customers and new businesses, and leaving Lichfield a shadow of what it once was.
The green ballot papers from the Electoral Reform Service along with a copy of the business plan for the proposed Lichfield Business Improvement District (BID) have now been sent out.
If a majority of businesses vote ‘YES’ for the BID then all projects and initiatives will go ahead.
This is not a Council project - it is 100% business led and business controlled - BIDs enable businesses to take charge of their own town or city and carry out the projects they want to increase footfall and raise the profile of their area.
BIDs are not a new initiative, over 200 towns and cities across the UK have already established BIDs over the last ten years with nearby BIDs already in Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Worcester and Rugby - there are 13 BIDs in Birmingham alone!
A ‘YES’ vote would create a powerful voice for businesses in Lichfield representing the 500 businesses within the city centre and a budget of £1 million to boost trade and increase footfall.
Please complete and return your BID ballot papers asap.
BID FACTS:
Broad Street BID
Recorded crime down by 50.7%
87% of visitors thought that Broad Street was safer than before the BID
385 hanging baskets in the BID area each year
Generated £2.1 million of positive media coverage in 12 months
Created the high profile 'Walk of the Stars'
Installed 37,000 LED tree lights
BID branded taxi marshals
Rugby BID
Installed state of the art CCTV system in the town
24/7 monitoring by BID CCTV operatives
Rugby Rangers - high visibility, friendly, helpful town ambassadors patrolling the town
Shoplifting incidents decreased by 54%
Every week their BID Clean Team visit 90+ businesses to clean the exterior of business premises, shop frontages and doorways
Introduced events and marketing to encourage more visitors to Rugby
Plymouth BID
Daytime crime reduced by 23%
300,000 additional day time visitors to the city since the start of the BID
Parking promotions
Plymouth BID manages the Council car parking service
Camden BID
Funded an additional 28 uniformed Police Officers to patrol the BID area
Reduced crime by over 30%
Removed 4,000 pieces of graffiti
Prepared and delivered a £10 million streetscape regeneration plan
All BID streets cleaned at least once a day,
in addition to the Council standard service
Introduced London's first 24 hour
commercial pop up space
InHolborn BID's bulk buying club achieved 25% savings on electricity costs
Bedford BID's marketing created an additional 9,000 people in town per week
Winchester BID 2
25% increase in daily tours of the city
£48,000 Christmas campaign
Hull's BID achieved a 38% reduction in crime within the city
Kingston BID's retail sales increased by 7.5%
Coventry's BID increased footfall by over 2% when the West Midlands average was down by 6%, a very dramatic contrast
90% of respondents felt that the level of cleanliness had improved or greatly improved as a result of the Holborn BID
The New West End Company (London) achieved two years of sales growth ahead of the UK in the first term of the BID
I urge you to commit your support and ensure that Lichfield BID gets its chance to deliver these vital projects. We've got one chance and I truly believe that this is an opportunity we business owners cannot afford to miss if we want to see our city continue to thrive.
Strong words from Paul Maddox if you would like more information regarding the Lichfield BID contact Michelle Baker Lichfield BID Development Manager on 07527 016338 or by email on michelle@lichfieldbid.co.uk
