A BID (Business Improvement District) is a business-led, not-for-profit organisation.
The local business community work together and invest collectively in new projects and services that they have prioritised to address opportunities and problems that affect their businesses, staff and customers.
The BID in Slough will raise a levy of 1.25% (exemptions and other rules apply) from every eligable business in the BID area and focus on the following projects:
Safe and Secure
Helping to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre.
Environment
Creating a clean and pleasant environment. Everything clean, everything working.
Marketing and events
Promoting Slough as a welcoming, vibrant town centre with events for everyone.
Business Support
Training and networking opportunities, cost reduction through joint procurement and customer loyalty schemes.
Representation
Being your voice, representing business interests and working with other organisations to get the best for the town centre.
How is the BID Governed?
The BID will be governed by a board of directors made up of business representatives who represent the BID area, and other stakeholders. This means that businesses have a local voice – and can decide and direct what they want for Slough town centre.
Alongside a Steering Group comprising business owners and managers and Slough Borough Council, we have held consultations, spoken with hundreds of businesses, run two surveys and held networking meetings to ensure that the BID Business Plan for Slough is robust, realistic, imaginative and capable of securing a Yes vote when the ballot comes around in June 2019.
To find out more about the BID, read on, or contact info@sloughbid.co.uk
Who is Slough BID?
Meet the team…
Slough BID is driven by a group of business owners and managers in Slough Town Centre, with input from Thames Valley Police, Slough Borough Council and guidance from expert place consultants, Revive & Thrive.
Andrew Wright
Andrew is the owner of Kingdom Property Services in Church Street. He Chairs the steering group and is passionate about the possibilities that the BID offers businesses in Slough.
Andrew said, “As a business located in the centre of Slough, we like others recognise the need for the plans that the BID will be implementing. Key themes such as working to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour; marketing and improving the reputation of Slough and the town centre through advertising and promotion of events and schemes; and providing additional support to local traders can only be beneficial to businesses in Slough and to Slough as a whole.”
James Lingard
James is the manager of the Tesco Extra on Wellington Street. He and his team recognise the importance of being involved in the activities of the BID.
James said, “As the largest retailer within the BID area and on behalf of Tesco, I am pleased to be able to support the BID for Slough. Slough is a growing place with many more businesses, great development and increased footfall coming in the town centre, although not without its challenges. The focus of the BID will cover many areas, and improvements towards the Safety and Crime issues will greatly improve the town centre. By working together on the BID and using this vital funding to put back into our town, I feel all businesses will benefit and ultimately increase footfall across the whole of the BID Area.”
Nick Heath
Nick is the Manager of Santander on the High Street and is already very involved in the business community. Nick Chairs the Town Centre partnership.
Nick said, “We are very excited about the proposed plans for Slough BID and think it is an extremely positive step. Times are changing and the BID is a great opportunity for all the businesses to come together and make a positive impact on the future of the town. We hope everyone else will get on board and start taking pride in their town and their businesses again.”
Chris Shaw
Chris is the Shopping Centre Manager of the Observatory and Queensmere Shopping Centres.
Chris is very aware of the challenges facing the town, particularly in relation to the redevelopment of the shopping centres, and has been working with the steering group to support businesses across the town.
Colette Makambila
Colette is the Town Centre Manager and is the eyes and ears of business interests in Slough town centre.
Simon Hall
Simon heads up the Economic Growth and Enterprise department at Slough Borough Council and is enthusiastic about the opportunities that Slough BID will provide for businesses to engage better with Slough Borough Council.
Tammy Sleet
Tammy is the BID Development Manager at Revive & Thrive, the place experts that are supporting businesses through the BID Development. Tammy is passionate about the positive changes BIDs can make to towns.
Tammy said, “BIDs are a fantastic mechanism for businesses to have a real voice in the community in which they operate. What struck me immediately about Slough was how vibrant, young and diverse it is. There’s so much to love about the town, but business confidence and trust is low. A BID not only delivers projects that have direct benefit to businesses, but also advocate for the interests of the business community.”
Matt Powell
Matt Powell is a Director at Revive & Thrive and has project managed the BID Development.
Matt said, “We have seen BIDs transform local business environments in towns across the country. BIDs not only give
businesses a chance to collectively invest in their area but provide an elected representative voice
to the business community which can be transformative.”
Other people across every business sector have been involved in the steering group through the development process, and have given us valuable feedback, as have all those who spoke to us one to one about business issues, came to workshop events, and completed the surveys during the consultation process.
