8/3/2019 Future of Town Centres

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8/3/2019 Future of Town Centres

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The British Bl lDsDialogue A summary of the Bb Leadership Nftwork Dialogue on 'The Future of Towr Centres

Town Centres need .... ,Vision, Strategy and Innovation.BIDs are well placed to lead the wayand are considered a criticalcomponent of leadership and deliveryin town centres.

What can BIDs do?BIDs are business-led innovative organisations that focus on thestrategic and the local in a well -defined area . They h~ve proventhemselves over the past six years to be significant p layers at thelocal level through joined up leadership and reliable operationaldelivery . I

The fifth Nationwide BID Survey launched at the British BIDsAnnual Conference in November 20 11 demonstrated the scale ofthe industry now in existence a cross the UK .

For the financial year ~010/11 , the surv~y showed th~t an .estimated 60,000 businesses now contnbute throug~ BID leviesacross the, then , 112 BIDs . To date, 124 BIDs have come intoexistence and 33 have successfully renewed their mandate for asecond term . I

The success of BIDs is borne out of their truly 'local'understanding and activity. Their engagement with t~eir businesscommunities is second to none providing a strong a~dcohesive business voice at the local level whilst providing manycost and efficiency savings to those businesses . BIDs help showthe way through transparent governance; democraticaccountability and constant engagement with their b~sinesspartners and local community.

Next Steps for Town Centres1. Reinforce the importance of town centres through theNational Planning Policy Framework - TOWN CENTREFIRST pol icy must be effective .

2. The way we use our town centres will changedramatically and therefore their form, funct ionand offer will need to change to meet and lead demand -space format requirements (and therefore PLANNINGUSE CLASSES) will need to change and the new CLICKAND COLLECT REVOLUTION must be embraced in towncentres .

3. Civic, leisure and culture will become even moreimportant to providing an appealing mix to consumers oftown centres - focus on retail alone will not suffice . Agreater focus on 'COMMUNITY HIGH STREETS ' will bethe key .

4. Town centres cannot be the 'cash cow' for businessrate injection to public services. Currently 25 % ofbusiness rates der ives from reta il whilst only 8% ofUK GDP is made up from retail . Incentivising towncentres through ENTERPRISE ZONES should beinvest igated .

5. Town centre car parking must be seen as effectiveattractors to town centres not just as income generatorsfor the public sec tor . CAR PARK SUBSIDIES should beconsidered .

6. Management of centres is critical to their futuresuccess. Further embrace the BID MODEL bydemonstrating great examples of leadership throughPILOT STUDIES whilst crea ting a REVOLVING LOANFUND to support the set up of new BIDs.

Share your views and experience .. .In its short seven year history, the BI D industry has more than proven its ability to add value and leadership to

Britain's town centres. The industry's expe rt input to the Mary Portas review has also demonstrated ourpowerhouse of ideas and vision as wel l as our ability to deliver practical solut ions.

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