Does Swindon need a ‘Business Improvement District' or BID?
Ink Business Focus with Fiona Scott
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Is Swindon town centre missing out by not having a BID (Business Improvement District)?
For several years Swindon town centre had one of these organisations – as did Chippenham – and both have fallen by the wayside.
By business journalist Fiona Scott
Business Improvement Districts, known as BIDs, were set up to provide ‘extras’ to businesses in a defined geographical area, outside of services which were already being provided by the relevant local authority. Often this area will be a town centre or urban area where there is a concentration of businesses.
A community votes for this and every business within that defined area has to pay a levy to fund the BID on top of business rates – currently at 1.5 per cent of what they pay in business rates. Some BIDs have been very successful and others have not been. I did some work with the team at the Swindon BID and saw its flaws, though I would not criticise the small team in place at the time. They were up against a situation which became untenable.
One of the keys to success of a BID is clear communication around what is being paid for – and not overpromising on the suggested plan. Often this will be around things like marketing and events; area management; area assets; more street cleaning and also it can mean town centre wardens to help keep the peace and provide a sense of safety. Safety is a theme which is common and which recurs.
The money is often spent on activities which create a ‘feel good’ factor which is very difficult to quantify in terms of return on investment. Proving impact and results can be very difficult until that organisation is no longer there and the impact of not having that can soon be felt. We’ve seen this in Swindon, where a small group of business owners – mostly retail – want something similar even now. It is possible to do this working only with those who are interested yet that’s a whole other conversation for another day.