Southport BID answer your questions
OTSNews.co.uk asked you to put forward your questions to our Southport Bid, here are the answers.
Why have the BID decided to cancel the Christmas markets & ice rink?
The decision to cancel the Christmas Markets was Sefton Council’s and not the BIDs. The BID has never been responsible for the management of the markets. We felt as disappointed with the decision as the businesses.
The ice rink’s success was reviewed extensively following last Christmas. It was a large investment, with limited uptake. Attendance was sporadic and did not result in strong uplift in footfall. Whilst a superb feature on paper, the decision was taken to look at better ways to spend levy payer’s money over the Christmas period and more cost-effective alternatives.
Why won’t the BID reduce shop rates & rents in Southport?
Business Rates are set by Central Government and the BID does not have influence over them. Lobbying the Council is also ineffective as rates are set centrally, not locally. Nor can we regulate private landlords business decisions on rents. We do lobby landlords and agents when possible to encourage favourable decisions.
Are Directors doing it for free or are they getting paid from the money collected?
No member of the Board of Directors nor the Chairman receives any remuneration for the time they give overseeing Southport BID. The BID management team of three are full time employees who receive fixed annual salaries. Details of all BID costs are disclosed in our full statutory members which are made available to all BID members at our AGM and are available to all levy payers on request.
When is the BID going to put Southport in the spotlight?
We work closely with the STBN to market Southport as a destination and managed/funded the Christmas marketing campaign for the town with them. We are looking to form a destination marketing group to ensure the promotion of Southport is done as a cohesive partnership rather than overlap. We have added a new festival of events into the calendar at Halloween, are working in partnership with others on the Southport Festival to bring a new spring event and help make Southport. We will be launching an ongoing campaign to promote the independent businesses in Southport and the quality of the businesses here.
Why can’t anything be done about the parking charges?
Charges in the current parking regime are set by Sefton council and its councillors. We are aware of the levy members’ views on the management of parking and are actively working with Sefton council to obtain information and analysis with a view to negotiating a satisfactory compromise. We speak regularly to businesses and read online feedback and gather this anecdotal evidence of the impact on businesses and present it regularly to Sefton Council.
How many empty shops are now compared to two years ago? What are you doing about empty units?
There is no escaping the fact that these are challenging times for small and medium sized British High Streets across the UK as most struggle against large cities, out of town shopping centres and the huge growth in internet shopping . We favour well in comparison to UK averages in footfall and sales. We have a wealth of quality independent retailers throughout the town and many exciting new businesses. We have also seen considerable growth in our already well developed dining and drinking scene with quality new investment coming into the town.
In partnership with Sefton Council, the BID has led on the development of an investment prospectus, due for publication in January 2017. This, through a specialist consultant, will be delivered to medium and large companies as well as independents who may consider investing in the town centre. The prospectus will be presented at trade fairs and consortiums and sent to letting agents and property management companies.
Will you publish your full accounts, signed off by an independent accountant?
Our full annual accounts, prepared and verified by an independent accountant, are made available to our BID members at our AGM and are available to any BID levy payer or member on request.
What are you doing exactly to help local businesses?
We help organise and support a range of events throughout the year in which BID levy payers have an opportunity to participate and support. In organising and supporting these events we are trying to increase footfall into the town centre. We offer direct support with issues such as fly tipping, graffiti and crime, street cleaning and planters. We have developed and are expanding the business against crime reporting network to improve security and safety in the town and are increasing activity with the introduction of body cameras, taxi marshals and more. We are in the process of developing a business support package which we hope will offer BID levy payers significant cost savings on essential business services.
In managing the Business Against Crime network the BID works to secure a better, safer more attractive Southport and improve general footfall. Not all individual projects will have a direct, tangible impact on each of the 950 members but this is a five year project designed to create an uplift over the life of the project.
By improving the physical environment with additional lighting, planting and cleansing schemes and lobbying the council for improvements to the way they manage the centre we are creating an environment that is more inviting for visitors and more attractive for investment.
What are you doing about all the damage done by louts around town?
We work closely with Merseyside Police and Sefton Council and its Councillors to continue find ways to tackle anti social behaviour and crime. Our shoplink radio system links retail and hospitality businesses with each other, the police and town wide CCTV system and we manage an online data capture and sharing platform to support our businesses in identifying criminals. Southport, like most communities, is affected by a level of anti-social behaviour. By working in conjunction with the statutory agencies and supporting their efforts we strengthen the response to crime.
I can’t see any improvement since you started?
The BID was voted in following five years of declining footfall, growing vacancies and falling investment in the physical environment. Without the BID and the support of its levy payers Southport wouldn’t have Christmas lights, additional flowers and planters, deep street cleansing, daily available support, active work to bring in new investors and a strong voice for businesses as local councils such as Sefton see bigger and bigger cuts from central government. Since the start of the BID – overall footfall and visitor numbers have increased and we are performing better than comparable high streets across the UK. Our footfall and comparative sales are measured by an independent, national data gathering company which counts and collates visitor data nationally for each town These reports are available on request.
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