Annual Review 2016

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www.theyorkbid.com YORK BID | Annual Review

Message from our Chair & Executive Director

Michael Hjort | Chair | York BID Andrew Lowson | Executive Director | York BID

It’s just over a year into the BID’s five year term The BID’s first year has begun with a promising start by and looking back, we’ve accomplished significant launching several programmes that focus on the city’s progress implementing programmes and services foundations, making the city feel cleaner and safer. that improve and enhance our BID businesses and area. In 2016, we offered a taster of projects like the The York BID Rangers have been very successful new winter lights, cleaner streets and our Rangers and from a standing start, have worked closely with throughout town. The BID will continue to widen the the police and Safer York on initiatives to tackle scale and range of its activities in the upcoming year the anti-social activity that concerns businesses. and work with local partners and agencies to deliver On the street cleansing front, the BID crews are the programme of improvements you asked of us. responding to calls to areas requiring rapid clean up and tackling hot spots in the early morning so The BID remains dependent on the active cleanliness issues are addressed before work hours. participation of the Board Directors who volunteer And after successful talks, the local authority has their time for the benefit of the city. The majority of agreed to add extra resource to ensure city centre Directors are drawn from levy-paying businesses who bins are emptied more frequently. The success of the face many of the same challenges as you. In an era city wall bar lights showed the importance of the BID of austerity and change, making a difference takes investing in programmes that bring a sense of pride diligence and care. Our work is informed by their to York. As a result, we will expand on last season’s direction so together we will create ways to make display and install more winter lights throughout the York a cleaner, better and safer city where businesses city this coming year, making York a more inviting succeed. This is often complex work, as any city environment during the winter months. centre is, where multiple organisations deliver diverse programmes. It’s our priority to ensure your money is Whilst we continue to roll out programmes that spent wisely. improve our local economy and city centre, factors such as a globalised market and changing buying There are several people to thank who have made habits means businesses are having to work even the BID possible. Adam Sinclair, my predecessor as harder for a share in today’s competitive market. It’s Chair of the BID, guided us through the vote to create been encouraging to see York businesses positively the York BID. I am grateful to have inherited a well- face these challenges by working together to improve focused organisation which established a record of their trade and local area. The BID has been liaising delivery within weeks of becoming operational. An with a number of business street associations such as additional vote of thanks must go to Steve Hughes Micklegate, The Shambles, Fossgate and Gillygate, and who led the campaign to win your hearts and minds has supported programmes and projects which have in the run up to the BID ballot in late 2015. And on emanated from the businesses themselves. behalf of the Board, thank you to Andrew Lowson I want to increase this dialogue going forward so and his small team for what they have achieved from associations and business groups feel they can bring a standing start in April 2016. their ideas to life.

And finally, special recognition goes out to you, York’s The BID Board intends to stay true to the issues that businesses. It’s your support and enthusiasm that were raised by businesses leading up to the formation make the BID possible so we can achieve our mission of the BID, as we feel they are still as real now as they to make York stronger than ever before. were during the 2015 consultation. The BID is in its infancy and whilst we have delivered a number of tangible programmes on the ground, the team and I will continue to work to understand your needs and invest in projects and services that support businesses in York.

Message from our Chair & Executive Director

“It was great to see the BID’s work positively highlight York’s welcoming atmosphere, particularly beyond the holiday season. It’s initiatives like this that create extra interest in our city and keep people returning year after year”

Zoe Plummer, Ambiente Tapas

“The BID Street Rangers deter anti-social behaviour and directly discourage key offenders. They take a proactive stance to deflect potential incidents and work with agencies and levy-payers to resolve issues around begging, rough sleeping and vulnerable people.”

PC Nick Plumb, North Yorkshire Police Safe & Secure The York Greeters were introduced during the height of the summer season and provided assistance and directions to visitors and residents about where to go and what to see. When the summer concluded, the BID Street Rangers hit the ground running.

Our ‘crew in blue’ have become a familiar presence in the city centre, helping the public find their way around York and contributing to the efforts towards deterring anti-social behaviour during the day and evenings. They engage with BID businesses making daily routine visits and log areas in the BID area that require improvement and attention. The Rangers run the Anti-Loitering scheme which is aimed at eliminating anti-social activity on the doorstep of BID ”The Street Rangers have been a businesses, and they also actively participate in the wider city tremendous help deterring and reporting task force on projects Operation Erase, Operation Target and anti-social activity, resulting in a safer OpWarmth, each with an aim to tackle local issues around environment for visitors and colleagues. drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour, vulnerable people in the “We couldn’t have resolved our concerns community and providing support for the homeless. The without their support. Rangers also sit on night time economy task group which Dave al Bahrani-Peacock, York Theatre Royal, aims to position York as a safe evening environment for all Building & Events Technician who visit and live.

Appearance & Environment In November the BID launched its enhanced street cleansing programme which immediately delivered noticeable results. The team has cleaned nearly 22,000 square metres of the city centre which includes areas that have required deep cleaning, power-washing, grime-busting and gum and graffiti removal. As an ongoing programme that will run throughout the BID’s duration, the street cleansing teams began operations on streets with the highest footfall traffic and are making their way throughout the city centre. In addition to the routine cleansing, a rapid response service is on offer to all BID businesses seven days a week. Businesses can call the rapid response hotline to report areas requiring attention and crews are on call to power wash shopfronts and entryways outside of routine clean up times. To The street cleansing work carried improve the appearance of the city and public space, the BID has out to our business area has been also been working with the York Civic Trust to identify and repair top class and the evidence is in the street furniture requiring upkeep and further maintenance. noticeable difference it has made to the “appearance of the Barbican. All of these services are an addition to existing core operations and contribute to the BID’s commitment to making the city Mark Scott, Barbican Centre centre cleaner than ever before. Business Support The BID invests in programmes and projects that support the promotion and marketing of businesses in the BID area. The BID’s initial investment in the Indie York pilot project backed the development of a new website, www.indieyork.co.uk and corresponding Indie York map. The directory and map serve as navigational tools that promote and market York’s independent and specialist businesses located in and around the city centre.

The BID works with trader associations within the BID area, attending forums and meetings and providing support to localised The York BID’s initial investment enabled events that draw footfall or invest in enhancements to improve us to create a website and map that will the area’s appearance. Such projects include the Gillygate Fringe, increase the visibility of York’s independent the Micklegate Soapbox Run and street lighting upgrades to The offering and strengthen our city’s local Shambles. We also support the York Food and Drink Festival’s “independent economy. Since the initiative’s ‘Foodie Thursday’, a weekly pre-weekend showcase in the Shambles launch, our organisation has doubled its Market that promotes BID businesses. number of participating businesses and as a result, has given Indie York a more The BID continues to explore cost saving options for businesses. prominent and stable presence. This includes consolidated utility packages that will result in lowering business spend and delivering efficient everyday services Cllr Johnny Hayes MBE Chair of York Independent Business Association such as gas, electric, water, waste and recycling collection for BID and business owner businesses.

Events & Festivals At the start of December, the BID introduced the winter lights on the four main medieval city wall bars of Micklegate, Bootham, Monkbar and Walmgate. The features were stunning spectacles that brightened the dark seasonal nights during the holiday season, into the New Year and throughout the winter months. The unprecedented display showcased York’s historic structures as ‘shining gateways’ that led to the attractions and businesses Fashion City York began as a 4-day event within and around the city centre walls. and will be extended to run for a week in 2018. The BID’s investment has enabled us The York BID also supported several city-wide festivals which to grow and offer a breadth promotional increased footfall and local economy for businesses in the BID “and marketing opportunities that benefit area. Our investment in these events addressed seasonality, local businesses. As a result, we’ve seen expansion of festivals to all areas of the city centre and additional Fashion City York’s attendance increase promotional support for BID businesses. The success of York’s year on year and more businesses come on Ice Trail in December, York’s Residents Weekend in January and board to participate in our event. Fashion City York’s Six Days of Style at the start of April helped boost visitor numbers to our city’s attractions, retailers, restaurants Angela Horner, Director of Fashion City York and services. Looking forward 692 to the next 12 months To date, the crews have routinely cleaned our city benches a total of 692 times, our city bins 517 times, and Wayfinding and Signage; The York BID will set forth to redesign the city’s removed 378 occurrences of graffiti. current wayfinding and signage. A new scheme will respect and enhance inherited character of the city centre whilst implementing a consistent system that will effectively tie in pedestrian information for the Business Improvement District. The BID is also exploring options to implement a corresponding digital app that will sit alongside the physical wayfinding system. We are working closely with city partners and agencies to ensure that all existing systems will be integrated and cohesively managed.

Enhancing winter lights; The BID will build upon last year’s stunning 190,000 city wall bars display and expand the winter lights installation to further highlight York’s landmarks and architecture. The enhanced displays The teams have removed more than will light up the city centre throughout the holidays and winter season, 190,000 pieces of chewing gum in the brightening the BID area during the season’s early drawn nights and serve city centre. as a must-see feature when visiting York.

10,850 Number of engagements our greeters had with the public in just 75 days, including questions about directions, attractions, where to go for food and drink, and to shop. Car parking; We are working with partners to explore user-experience options for car-parking in the city centre. Discussions are focussed on efficient payment methods such as a pay-on-exit function which will enable car park users to visit the city centre without time dependent constraints.

Window dressing; The York BID is looking to change the appearance to the city centre’s vacant shops by installing window dressing options. The adhesive vinyls project a 3-D appearance which enhance the overall 22,000 look of the city for visitors and residents and result in a better business Street cleansing teams have atmosphere for neighbouring shops. An alternative way of marketing covered 22,000 square metres of empty properties, the dressing of vacant shops will improve the image of city pavement. our business community and inspire and attract prospective businesses to open their doors in York.

Promoting York Retail; Retailers have told us that whilst York is very successful at attracting visitors from further afield, more could be done to market the city centre retail offer to our residents and people living in the surrounding areas. In response, the BID is developing a campaign to be launched late 2017, which will promote York’s great retail experience and devise incentives aimed to encourage locals and all who live nearby to visit and shop in the city centre. 15,000 Secure bike storage; As one of the top cities in the UK for commuting to Number of interactions about work by bicycle, the York BID is looking to enhance secure cycle storage York BID winter lights received for York’s business employees. The York BID has opened talks with the on social media during its 3 month city council to identify existing cycle storage in need of replacement and installation. where capacity can be added. Our facts & figures

Annual Income

£ - £ 100,000 £ 200,000 £ 300,000 £ 400,000 £ 500,000 £ 600,000 £ 700,000 £ 800,000 £ 900,000 y

v Budget: £790,000

e L

ID Actual: £825,685

B e

r Budget:

t In O Actual: £25,000

l Budget:

a £790,000 t

To Actual: £850,685

Programme Expenditure

£ - £ 50,000 £ 100,000 £ 150,000 £ 200,000 £ 250,000

t n

e Budget: £220,000

r n

a Actual/ e

E £92,634 £120,000 p

d Committed:

a A BID Management

re Budget: £180,000

c e

S £ - £ 20,000 £ 40,000 £ 60,000 £ 80,000 £ 100,000 £ 120,000 d

n Actual/ a

e £85,512 £50,000

f Committed:

Sa Budget: £100,000

ls a

iv Budget:

t £90,000 s

e Actual:

F £71,171 d

Operating Costs Operating n

a Actual/ t £15,000

n Committed: £55,144 e

Ev Budget: £25,000

Budget: £135,000 Actual: £24,329 Levy Collection

Business Actual/ £35,027 £50,000

Development Committed:

Budget: £40,000

Actual/

Contingency Committed:

Total Company Expenditure

£ - £ 100,000 £ 100,000 £ 200,000 £ 300,000 £ 400,000 £ 500,000 £ 600,000 £ 700,000 £ 800,000 £ 900,000 e

m Levy

o £850,685

c & other:

u it

d Actual/ n

e committed: £598,817

E s

lu Carried to p

r Y2 £251,868

u S

Key: Budget Actual Committed

Committed expenditure is Board decisions up to 31st March 2017 not yet Implemented Street Rangers 0780 990 0794

Rapid Response Hotline 01904 866 143

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