Download - Northfield BID Newsletter 9 - June 2014
Newsletter 9 - June 2014
NORTHFIELD
Follow us: NorthfieldBID @NorthfieldBID
After a bigspring clean,
we’re ready forthe summer
events!
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
Despite heavy rain we made great progress:
• Cut back the thorny brambles and roses over-spilling onto the pavement near the relief road.
TIDY UPA huge thank you to the 12 volunteers (including McDonalds, Northfield Town Centre Partnership, Baptist Church, Methodist Church and members of the public) who joined us to blitz messy areas across the town centre in May.
• Cleared weeds, brambles, litter, fly tipping and a trolley from the car park and land behind the shops near Boots.
• Litter picked and removed weeds from the side of
Northfield House.
• Swept Bell Lane and pulled up weeds to improve the view for anyone waiting in traffic at the junction.
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www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
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All Out DayWe timed our Big Tidy Up to coincide with a high profile All Out Day organised by PCSO Mel Foxall.
Several agencies joined in to
offer advice to businesses and the public, including Northfield Neighbourhood Police Team, Northfield Fire, trading standards, bus inspectors and the Safer Travel team.
City centre tunnelsThis summer the city centre A38 tunnels will be shut again for major repairs.
For more follow @brumtunnelson Twitter or seewww.brumtunnels.co.uk
Summer flowersFollowing a fabulous display last year, we’ve again commissioned 62 metre-long summer flower boxes.
They will be out between June and September, watered daily and, for maximum effect, concentrated on three key road junctions.
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
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To help win the television public vote we captured people’s attention in advance with mystery green people appearing across Northfield and the city - it went viral online, got people talking and even received local and national media coverage!
Cycle South Brum was officially launched at the Northfield Travel
Last year we joined Northfield Town Centre Partnership and Northfield Ecocentre to back a successful campaign to win £50,000 in the People’s Millions to set up Cycle South Brum.
Roadshow on Price’s Square in April, jointly organised with Network West Midlands.
Local people can now borrow free bikes to get to work, get active or cycle as a family, and also enjoy group cycle rides and bike maintenance courses.
To find out more visitwww.cyclesouthbrum.co.uk
www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
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Over 150 people of all ages joined our public Poppy Planting Day in May including the Birmingham Mail and staff from Mortons Funerals, Sainsbury’s and McDonalds.
We’re staggering the planting with further sessions in June and July to ensure a good crop on the 4th August centenary. We’ll also agitate the land each year to encourage the poppies to grow again.
The land’s always been an eyesore and, to get it ready, behind the scenes we’ve chopped shrubs, pulled down bind weed, strimmed, rotavated through hardcore, added a few tonnes of soil and cleared fly tipping, litter and rocks!
Poppy planting dayWe’re transforming disused land at the junction of the relief road and Lockwood Road into a stunning poppy field to mark 100 years since the start of World War One.
NorthfieldPoppy Planting DAYS
If your school, group or organisation would
like to join us in planting poppy seeds on
Saturday 31st May (PUBLIC EVENT 10AM - 12PM),
Tuesday 10th June or Thursday 3rd July
please get in touch by calling 0121 411 2157
Poppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYSPoppy Planting DAYShelp turn disused land into a stunning poppy fieldto mark 100 years since the start of world war one
visitnorthfi eld
www.visitnorthfi eld.co.ukNORTHFIELDTown Centre Partnership
Don’t forget to visit our new look website: www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
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We again brought in specialist contractors to carry out the annual Big Clean over eight evenings in April.
The two-stage deep cleanse of paving slabs allowed us to lift dirt, grease and gum. We also successfully trialled a different technique that allowed us to dissolve chewing gum from tarmac in hotspot areas - the heated jet wash would have melted the tarmac!
STREET CLEAN
www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
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Don’t forget to visit our new look website: www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
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PRIDE INNORTHFIELD
MAKING NORTHFIELD MORE ATTRACTIVE
On your behalf we continue to invest in projects that make a visible difference, and are doing what we can to keep the town
Improving the town centre environment, by making it cleaner, more attractive and welcoming, makes good business sense.
centre as a whole looking good.
However if we each do our bit, it will make a huge difference!
Here are some practical ways you can contribute to making Northfield better for trade, better for customers:
1. Make sure your shop front and forecourt are attractive and welcoming, and that your back yard is tidy.
2. Make it a daily routine to remove litter (particularly cigarette butts, food and drink) from around your premises.
3. Discourage delivery and other vehicles from mounting pavements, causing obstruction and damage, both inconvenient and potentially dangerous for your customers.
4. Store and dispose of trade waste responsibly and recycle wherever possible.
5. Inform the BID Manager or Caretaker of any problems and issues affecting your trading environment, eg graffiti, damaged paving.
If you’d like a free cigarette bin fitted simply call us on0121 411 2157 or [email protected]
WeedremovalIn March our caretaking contractor Tony Adams weed sprayed across the town centre. He’d waited patiently for a forecast of four days’ dry weather to ensure it worked effectively!
www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
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Community Partnership
Follow us for full details:
visitnorthfield
NORTHFIELd
BEACHLd
Back by popular demand...
why not getreally into
the spiritof the beachand encourage
your staff to dress in
t-shirtsand shorts!
WEDNESDAY 23RD TO SUNDAY 27TH JULY
Don t missout on...
Don’t forget to visit our new look website: www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
• The Big Projects - making Northfield cleaner• Pride in Northfield - making Northfield more attractive• ShopWatch - making Northfield safer• Vibrant streets - putting on quality entertainment• Be part of something special - encouraging people to get involved
• Spreading the word - promoting the exciting things happening• Supporting business - influencing key issues
Earlier this year we carriedout a survey of manybusinesses, where we asked your views on existing and potential project ideas.
Overall the results showedthat our work is largely in line
BID projectsOur projects fall under seven themes:
with what you are wanting,and we’re already working onnew project ideas to fill in the gaps!
The most popular projectswere:
• Town centre caretaker• Jet washing• Summer flowers• Offender photo scheme• Crime prevention initiatives• Positive publicity
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www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
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Retail Relief - save up to £1,000You may be able to apply for Retail Relief, a £1,000 Government discount on this year’s Business Rates bill (the scheme’s also running next year).
To be eligible, your property’s rateable value (RV) must be less than £50,000 a year (your RV figure is on the front of your bill), and your business fall into one of a number of categories.
This is in addition to Small Business Rates Relief and
Save big moneyThere are two main schemes around to savebusinesses money, and the forms are quick and easy.
If you’re eligible make sure you apply - several businesses on the high street have already received confirmation they’ll be saving £6,000 over the next two years!
hasn’t been widely publicised, but for more information visit Birmingham City Council’s website: www.birmingham.gov.uk/retail-relief
Employment Allowance - save upto £2,000From 6th April 2014 employers can claim the ‘Employment Allowance’ and reduce their employer Class 1 National Insurance Contributions by up to £2,000 each tax year www.gov.uk/employment-allowance
Grants Grants of £10,000 to £30,000 are available to eligible small and medium sized businesses through Birmingham City Council’s Business Innovation Programme (BIP).For more information visitwww.birmingham.gov.uk/bip
PRIMEPRIME (Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise) has free training and events coming up in Birmingham for over 50s interested in setting up business.
For more information visitwww.prime.org.uk/courses
Don’t fall for companies claiming they can completethe forms on your behalf, and make sure you follow theofficial links below.
www.visitnorthfield.co.ukimprove - promote - support
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Northfield BIDVisit Northfield Shop693 Bristol Road SouthNorthfieldBirminghamB31 2JT
Telephone: 0121 411 2157Mobile: 07921 818 828Email: [email protected]
Follow us:
More reasons to visit NorthfieldFacebook: VisitNorthfieldTwitter: @VisitNorthfieldWebsite: www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
Northfield BIDFacebook: NorthfieldBIDTwitter: @NorthfieldBID
Contact usTo get involved with any of our projects, please contact Liz Newton:
Updates...Sign up for our monthly email update by visiting:www.eepurl.com/u3Jqn
Don’t forget to visit our new look website: www.visitnorthfield.co.uk
Here is the breakdown of BID income and expenditure for 2013-14.
BID finances
BID levy - £104,214
Other income including grants - £12,080
We also helped other organisations raise money towards town centre projects:
Northfield Ecocentre Urban Harvest - £10,000
Improve - £21,302
Promote - £35,888
Support - £594
BID Manager - £37,115
Administration - £2,738
Total Income
Bid Expenditure
Work in Progress After the Event - £10,000
Northfield Town Centre Partnership Culture Mash - £10,000
Northfield Town Centre Partnership Cycle South Brum - £50,000