Kendal BIDBusiness Improvement District

YEAR 2ANNUAL REVIEW

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About Kendal BID

Chairman’s Message

BID Manager’s Message

Confi dent and Competitive

Clean, Safe and Attractive

Convenient and Accessible

The Year Ahead

Financial Summary

BID Company Directors

Contents

Your money, your priorities, your say!

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A business improvement district (BID) is a precisely defi ned geographical area of a town, city or commercial district, where business ratepayers are invited to vote to invest collectively in local improvements. These investments are additional to those currently provided by local government.

Business ratepayers are asked to vote on an additional levy to their rates bill that, if supported, will be collected in a ring-fenced account before being used to fi nance the delivery of projects, services and activities detailed in a business plan.

As such, Kendal BID is based on the premise that businesses can have a greater impact and infl uence on their individual trading environment by working together.

In autumn 2013, the businesses of Kendal took part in an open vote. Each had the opportunity to vote, either for or against Kendal becoming a Business Improvement District. In that vote, 70% of businesses voted in favour of the formation of a Business Improvement District.

Kendal’s priorities can be summarised as the 4Cs:

Kendal BID

A Confi dent Kendal

A Clean Kendal

A Convenient Kendal

A Competitive Kendal

The fi rst year saw us setting the framework and foundations of Kendal BID Ltd, including the setup of the Board; legal structures; the delivery of a number of small projects that are in line with the business priorities and starting the foundations for some larger projects, which will develop and grow as the BID moves forward in its fi rst tender.

Kendal BID, in BID terms nationally, covers one of the largest geographical zones. Covering the whole of the town centre, it represents over 700 businesses, spanning professional services; hospitality; leisure; retail and public sector.

Kendal BID is a not-for-profi t company limited by guarantee. The BID Board is responsible for delivering the business plan, as well as the strategic and fi nancial management of the BID. Membership of the BID Board is voluntary and, where possible, representation refl ects the mix and diversity of the businesses within Kendal. Kendal BID is governed by the BID regulations of 2004.

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BID Manager’s Message

The second year of Kendal Business Improvement District has come to an end. It has been tough but at the same time the businesses and people of Kendal have pulled together. I have found that businesses have become more receptive to the BID process and many more now have the understanding that a BID is whatever you make it to be.

I believe Kendal has an opportunity to work together over the next three remaining years of Kendal BID. We have a new Board that will take us through the next two years and bring even more exciting and rewarding developments to Kendal.

The Kendal Gift Card will challenge peoples buying habits and will challenge visitors and locals alike to get behind the concept of supporting our town and supporting all businesses, not just independents.

SWIPII Kendal has broken records in the UK and Kendal will benefit in the longer term from the increased publicity that this will bring.

Our festivals, supported by BID, have given Kendal the opportunity to become a shop window for visitors and locals alike, raising Kendal’s profile.Importantly BID is working behind the scenes on a large number of your priorities, such as help for our evening economy, signage, and park and ride with links to existing transport systems and cycling infrastructure. We understand that businesses want to see results immediately, but a great many pieces of the jigsaw have to fit into place for any one thing to work and be sustainable.

The volunteer BID board welcome suggestions so please do get in touch.

Sarah Williams

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As Kendal BID’s second term comes to a close, so does the term of this current board. As of June 2016, a new board will be in position to take Kendal BID forward onto its third term. As with all reviews, it starts with reflecting on the past year. Kendal BID (and Kendal itself) had some huge challenges in 2015 and, as always, there are areas that we could have given more focus to, however there is also plenty for us all to be proud of.

2015/2016 continued to see us work with key partners, both in the private and public sector, but with some great data from the BID’s first year. Using that data, we have been able to build on key achievements such as the Park and Ride at Christmas, the expansion of SWIPII, innovative marketing and promotion, the support of key festivals and much more.

2015 brought some very unique challenges to the table for Kendal BID with the devastating flooding that occurred in December, and the continued aftermath of poor weather and consumer and customer perception and confidence. Outlined in the report in more detail is some of the work that Kendal BID did to help support business both directly and indirectly affected (many suffered from a quieter trading period in what is known in the retail and hospitality businesses as ‘the Golden quarter’).

As always, work has been going on behind the scenes and 2016/2017 will see some great developments, including the long awaited gift card and a Kendal website.

As this board’s time draws to a close, I would just like to thank every board member who has been a part of Kendal BID over the past two years.

Kendal BID has a great role to play in both championing and lobbying for the voice of business in Kendal, and the board made up of local business people have done that with real passion and professionalism, all in their own time. Kendal BID is here to work hard for businesses in Kendal, if you have any feedback at all please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Wishes

Daniel Morley

Chairman’s Message

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BID Manager’s Message Following the devastating fl oods in December 2015, Kendal BID worked with key strategic partners to support those businesses directly affected by fl ooding.

Part of the work we did was around securing new premises, helping with funding applications and general advice on how to get businesses back up and running as quickly as possible. For those businesses not affected directly by fl ooding, the negative PR and media messages really hit the town’s trading and footfall hard. Kendal BID engaged a PR company and did some very quick work to ensure customers were aware that Kendal was trading. A few key achievements during this period were:

• Working in partnership with SLDC, it was agreed that additional key trading days for the town would be added into the free/ reduced parking offer.

• We launched this key message: ‘Visit Kendal, it’s never been easier’. It included a PR campaign aimed at the holiday makers from South England and advertised how easy it is to get to Kendal (Oxenholme).

• A massive social media campaign was commissioned for a three week period with a focus on positive news stories and hidden Kendal treasures.

• A lifestyle video was commissioned to showcase Kendal as being ‘open as usual’.

• A huge amount of physical, traditional marketing was rolled out across Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire, showcasing the free park and ride, reduced parking costs and the festive activities.

• Some additional work was completed in partnership with Lakeland Radio and the Westmorland Gazette to highlight individual businesses and spread the ’support your local business’ message.

We are also very aware that, whilst the water may have now receded and the news crews left, we still have a lot of work to do in order to attract both visitors and locals back into the town. Kendal BID remains committed to working with all other stakeholders to ensure that this remains our top priority.

Our continued work with festivals to showcase Kendal as a Festival Town 1

The expansion of the Christmas lights within the BID Zone 2The overwhelming success of the SWIPII loyalty card3

The positive marketing response to the devastating fl ooding in December 20154

The increased investment into social media with the employment of a part-time

Communication Assistant5

Our fi ve key achievements:

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Due to the success of last year, the BID repeated the series of local radio and local press marketing initiatives based upon key events taking place within the town over 2015, including our activities during the Christmas period. These were featured not only on The Bay and/or Lakeland Radio (depending on the targeted audience and customer market), but also across the north-west’s papers. These promotions reached potential audiences of 1.2 million listeners and readers within the north-west area.

Recognising its importance, we have continued to focus on social media, both for the consumer (Twitter/Facebook @kendalmintplus) and business messages (Twitter/Facebook @kendalBID). Kendal BID employed a Communications Assistant in November 2015 in order to help with regular and consistent traffi c to both our Twitter and Facebook feeds. This support will continue into the middle of 2016 and will focus on driving social media traffi c as well as helping achieve our agenda with Bubb.al. This renewed focus has helped to increase traffi c and social media engagement by an estimated 70%.

Festivals remained a key feature of the events calendar for 2015 and the BID continued with its support of Festivals, contributing a total of £27,500 in cash as well as additional support under joint marketing and promotions. Festivals remain key to help set Kendal apart from other market towns, and the BID board has a long-term aim to both support and develop the festivals going forward. As part of the support and development of festivals, Kendal BID will soon be conducting some research to understand the commercial impact of festivals on bricks and mortar businesses within the town. We encourage all businesses to provide that feedback in order to help shape our funding strategy of festivals and how we support them going forward for the wider commercial benefi t of the town.

SWIPII has without question been Kendal BID’s biggest success story, with over 12,000 subscribers within 2015 - equating to over 60,000 visits to local and independent businesses! This tool has provided Kendal BID with some great consumer data but also given small businesses access to the power of the loyalty market in a clear and technologically-advanced manner.

Confi dent and Competitive

These numbers clearly demonstrate a positive demand and show that the consumer is actively engaging with this tool. As part of the overall numbers, some businesses are seeing an outstanding response from consumers and other businesses have struggled with how it can best support them. Kendal BID is continuing to work with SWIPII in order to support those business who are not progressing as quickly, and we have asked SWIPII to partner much more closely as we go into 2016. In response to the usage so far, and as part of our overall response to the fl ooding, Kendal BID has agreed to fund the second year of this key project. The hope is that we can both grow on the success of the fi rst year but also see SWIPII cemented in the minds of local consumers.

12,324

total users

64,567

total visits

2,678 total rewards redeemed

SWIPII in numbers:

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Christmas 2015 saw the completion of one of the fi rst projects undertaken by BID - the extension of Kendal Christmas Lights. More of the BID zone was able to be included than originally thought and, whilst there were some teething problems, feedback has been very positive. This project was fi rst started in 2014 and, although it took longer than anticipated to deliver the key infrastructure, is now in place so that this can be enjoyed for the long-term going forward.

Aside from the additional lights on Sandes Avenue and Stricklandgate, mini Christmas trees adorned Blackhall Road. Once again we had some great feedback on these trees, with both local businesses and residents alike asking if they will be extended to other parts of the town.

Clean, Safe and Attractive £20,000

2015 BUDGET

The BID board has committed to the same level of expenditure for additional Christmas lights for 2016, as well as working with Kendal Town Council on the traditional lights and the Christmas tree in the town center.

Christmas 2015 also saw a number of different elements added to the festivities this year, including a Christmas Market, the four Son et Lumiere shows and some street performances in the form of Naughty Angels, mystical jugglers and funky pigeons, in addition to mixing this with a samba band. The hope was to create additional activity within the town, to highlight Kendal arts and culture credentials and to create a festive ambience despite the bad weather. Feedback on all these elements has, in the main, been positive; however the area with the most overwhelming positive feedback was the street entertainment. The BID board have also committed to reviewing this for Christmas 2016.

In order to showcase a positive image for Kendal as we went into spring 2016, Kendal BID commissioned a number of marketing/PR projects, including the Victoria bridge reopening promotion around “Batman and Robin” a PR video was commissioned which had over 7,000 likes. Keeping on the Victoria Bridge theme, we also ran a town-wide ‘Victoria bridge is open’ campaign.

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Convenient and Accessible

With the support of SLDC, we repeated the reduced parking charge for Sundays in October and November 2015. We also negotiated additional parking subsidies during the Christmas holidays, as well as some reductions well into the new year (when Victoria Bridge was closed for repair).

Following the success of the free park and ride in 2014, the BID board agreed to run this service again in December 2015 and extended it into Fridays and Saturdays in November. The numbers using this facility peaked last year and saw an 8% increase, despite some cancellations due to fl ooding. Park and ride received some great feedback on social media and has very quickly become one of the biggest success stories for Kendal BID. Whilst this has been a great success for both the BID and Kendal, the price per user still remains high. Kendal BID at its heart is run by local business people and we fully understand the need for projects to be commercially viable. Whilst the board agrees that this is a great project and that it remains part of our overall program as we go into 2016/2017, we are reviewing any way that we can make this project more commercially viable, possibly by changing the timing or days. The aim would be to make the cost per user reduced year on year.

With cycling and cycling tourism set to become a key focus for many agencies both locally and nationally, Kendal BID is continuing to work hard to ensure that we are ready to welcome cyclists to Kendal. Our continued lobbying has brought forward Defra monies and many of the cycling racks will be upgraded in town. In addition, the BID board has fi nancially committed to providing secure cycling facilities both indoors and outdoors with the town in preparation for a potential park and cycle facility.

The BID Board has also committed some monies to help provide the 106 service into Kendal from outlying villages; the economic impact of this service is substantial.

The fl ooding in December 2015, caused some major infrastructure damage to some of the key transport networks around the town. As such there is a series of works which are being planned by Cumbria County Council. Where possible and appropriate, Kendal BID have lobbied to ensure that these are done with as little disruption as possible.

£50,000

2015 BUDGET

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Much work has been going on behind the scenes for 2016/2017 and Kendal BID hopes to continue to bring new and exciting opportunities to the businesses of Kendal.

In our last year view we mentioned a town-wide gift card. This is still a hope for the BID and much work has been ongoing to both find the right provider but also the most operationally-efficient system for the businesses taking part. As a board, we feel that we may have now met both of those hopes so information will be heading your way soon on this exciting project, which we hope will encompass all businesses in the town.

2016 will also see the start of our cycling agenda, with bike boxes being placed strategically around Kendal to encourage customers to visit the town using two wheels instead of four! We hope this will ease congestion and make Kendal more accessible to cyclists.

SWIPII continues to grow in terms of customer interaction. With over 12,000 subscribers and 60,000 recorded visits to local independent businesses in Kendal, this remains a key project for the Kendal BID as we enter 2016/2017.

The long-awaited website has also seen some great progress this year. Working in partnership with

Kendal Town Council and Kendal Futures, a Kendal town website looks a real possibility for 2016/2017.

With both Kendal and Cumbria being hit so hard by the recent flooding and weather, marketing and PR will remain a key focus for the BID. In February’s board meeting the board signed off an exciting project lead by City Dressing. This work will be in prime city locations and will have a link via QR codes to a commissioned video about Kendal. Kendal Town Council have supported and helped to fund this video and programme of works. We hope this will increase visitor and tourist numbers, but also work to cancel some of the negative perceptions following the flooding.

The board have already shown their commitment to Festivals and in 2016/2017 that commitment will contribute to both the Comic Art festivals, Kendal Mountain film festival and the new expansion to the touch light festival.

Kendal BID is also continuing to work hard to find a solution to help the evening economy and to improve our transport connections within the town and outlaying communities. A great example of this is the support of the 106 bus service from Penrith.

2016 will also see re-elections for the Kendal BID board. Over the past two years the current board have both championed Kendal and its existing businesses but also been very proactive in bringing new and fresh ideas to Kendal.

The Year Ahead

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Financial Commentary The following points explain our overspend during the year 2015/2016

Financial Summary

• Followingadvicefromouraccountants Kendal BID became VAT registered in 2015, therefore a VAT adjustments is present in these accounts.

• Duetothefloodingin2015andthe unexpected need for additional marketing

for Kendal, Kendal BID overspent within the area of the budget against plan.

• ThepercentageofAdminisslightlyhigherthan planned, due to the decrease in the collection of Levy and other incomes. The BID board is comfortable with this level of expenditure.

Description Actual Budget Variance

Levy £152,153 £157,033 -£4,880

Other Revenue £4,976 £20,000 -£15,024

Total Income £157,129 £177,033 -£19,904

Administration £22,404 £25,000 -£2,596

Direct Expenses £8,932 £0 £8,932

Levy Collection £10,788 £10,788 £0

Total Admin £42,124 £33,143 £8,981

Admin as a % of Income 25% 20% 5%

Available to Spend £115,005 £143,890 -£28,885

Marketing & Promotion £64,854.65 £50,000 -£14,854.65

Clean, Safe & Attractive £14,258.32 £20,000 £5,741.68

Convenient & Accessible £25,914.35 £50,000 £24,085.65

Enterprising & Competitive £40,499.62 £32,000 -£8,499.62

VAT Adjustment -£13,452.00 £0 -£13,452.00

Total Expenditure £132,074.94 £152,000 £19,925.06

Surplus £17,069.45 £8,110 £8,959.45

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The following directors resigned during the year due to other work commitments:

John Osbourne

Colin Reynalds

BID Directors

The BID Board of Directors is responsible for delivering the business plan, as well as providing the strategic and fi nancial direction for the BID company. Membership of the BID Board is voluntary and, where possible, representation refl ects the mix and diversity of the businesses within Kendal.

Contact details:Sarah Williams - Kendal BID Manager Sarah@kendalbid.co.uk

Daniel Morley - Kendal BID Chair Dan@kendalbid.co.uk

Photography credits:

Current Directors Daniel Morley – BID Chair

Simon Thomas – BID Vice Chair

Rory Black

Jackie Ward

Richard Foster

Brian Harrison

Derek Armstrong

Cllr Giles Archibald – SLDC representative

Cllr Sylvia Emmott – Kendal Town Council representative

Malcome Perrin

David Harrison

Dane Swart

Dave Willis

Tony West

Steven Barber

Ben Barden

front cover (bottom left and bottom right), page 3, 5, 7, 8 (bottom), 9, 11, back cover (top left and top right)

front cover (top left), page 8 (top)

front cover (top right), page 2 (bottom), back cover (bottom left and bottom right)page 2 (top), 4

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Businesses can have a greater impact and infl uence on their individual trading environment by working together.

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Kendal BID“Kendal BID

Kendal