7th May 2019, Bliss Hotel, Waterfront, Southport
#YourSouthportBID 2019-2024
Southport’s Business Improvement District (BID) is holding an event for local businesses so that they can find out more about its work and plans, all of which are dedicated to making Southport a better place to live, visit, shop, socialise and work. The event will be held on 7th May 2019 at Bliss Hotel on the Waterfront from 5pm to 7pm and co-incides with the opening of the BID ballot for the next five years.
Having completed a successful first five years, Southport BID has just launched its manifesto outlining its plans for the next five years, 2019 to 2024. These plans will go to ballot in May, so the event is an opportunity to meet the BID team and its Board and discover more about the manifesto and the work of the BID.
Rob Uffendell, Chair of Southport BID, says, “This event is an open invitation for businesses to come along and meet the BID team, so that they can find out more about what’s in our manifesto for 2019-2024, which has been developed through close consultation with local businesses.
“It will be an informal event where the BID Board and team will be there to chat about the forthcoming plans, in conversations that will also be about the businesses themselves and what we can do to support them. We’ve seen important progress made for Southport over the last five years and we want to ensure that we can continue to develop this momentum and these results in the coming years, to do this we will need businesses to get behind us in the ballot, so we hope they will also take this opportunity to meet us.”
Like all of the ten board members, Rob’s position on the Board is completely independent and unpaid and is there to govern the work of the BID. Collectively the Board is made up of representatives from levy-paying businesses, voluntary paying members and Sefton Council. The Board members who represent levy-paying businesses include businesses from the hospitality, retail, restaurant, finance and creative sectors.
Enda Rylands, Chief Operating Officer at The Waterfront Southport and a member of the Southport BID Board, says, “We extend a warm invitation to local businesses to this event, which is a way of the BID team and Board meeting as many local businesses as possible. Collectively we have a shared interest in the success of Southport, so we are also gathering together to look to the future and how we can work together to drive forward a positive vision for the town.”
Each BID term lasts for five years and is supported through a levy payment that is made by all members, which is based on rateable value. Two important changes for the 2019 proposals include the adjustment of the levy threshold to £7,000, which means that only businesses with a rateable value of £7,000 or more would pay the levy and will therefore be able to vote in the upcoming ballot. It is also proposed that the new BID term includes all of Southport’s commercial sector businesses, which will strengthen the representation of the BID and what it can achieve.
The Southport BID Ballot papers will be dispatched to businesses on 6 May 2019, with the result being announced on 4 June 2019. The manifesto for 2019-2024 can be viewed on their website.
If you would like to register your interest in attending the Southport BID’s event on 7th May 2019, please email info@southportbid.com
For further information on Southport BID visit www.SouthportBID.com or contact the Southport BID office on 01704 538 382.
Businesses can check the details of their ratable value by visiting www.gov.uk/correct-your-business-rates.
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