M A R C H 2 0 2 1 SWANSEA BID BULLETIN THE LATEST SWANSEA CITY CENTRE NEWS March has been a red-letter month for Wales, with the stay local travel restrictions being lifted and with more people now able to meet outdoors. We know this has felt like a long time coming for many of our BID area businesses and we are looking forward to a further controlled opening up of our city centre on 12 April as long as infection rates stay low. For detailed guidance on getting everything in place in preparation for that re-opening, please see the Welsh Government website below. COVID-19 GUIDANCE www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] LET US HELP SHARE YOUR REFURBISHMENT NEWS WITH OUR THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS We were pleased to share the news in the local media and across our BID and Big Heart social media channels about the refurbishments that so many of our BID area business have been investing in during lockdown. The first piece focussed on Bambu, but we are looking forward to putting more of a spotlight on others. Please send us your walk-through videos and an image or two of your new-look venues or businesses and we will do our best to share them all. We have a handy filming guide, to ensure the videos look uniform, so get in touch with [email protected] and he will send it to you. Let’s remind visitors and consumers what they have to look forward to when they head back to Swansea city centre. COMMUNITY HUB PLANS FOR OXFORD STREET Have you had your say on the multi- purpose community hub planned for Oxford Street? The hub, which is mooted to go into the What! site, will offer a range of services, social activities, learning and support groups as well as flexible office space for like-minded third, public and private sector companies. The deadline to give your input is 16 April. HAVE YOUR SAY www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] JOIN OUR FIGHTING FOR OUR CITY CENTRE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY EVENT Please join us for our next Fighting For Our City Centre video conference, on Wednesday 14 April, which will focus sharply on the issues facing the night time economy in Swansea city centre. The success of our pubs, clubs and venues is crucial to the survival of Swansea city centre and Swansea BID continues to work hard to ensure the concerns of our hospitality businesses are heard loud and clear by the decision-makers in the post-Covid plans for Wales. One of the initiatives you will hear about at the Fighting For Our City Centre Hospitality event, is the formation of a new entity for licensees in Cardiff and Swansea to represent the night time industry, to lobby Welsh Government and to marshal the support of the public in keeping our evening and night time economy alive. This lively event will be hosted by UWTSD (University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and will go ahead via Zoom, at 12 noon to 1pm, with speakers: Swansea BID Chief Executive Russell Greenslade Swansea Hospitality Forum’s Gary Lulham Cardiff & Swansea Licenses Project’s Nick Newman UWTSD Provost Swansea and Cardiff, Ian Walsh www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] PROMOTING THE CHANGING FACE OF THE HIGH STREET We were very pleased to sponsor the Swansea Bay Business Club’s March roundtable event, which saw a lively panel debate upon Retail: The Changing Face of the High Street. The panel included Swansea BID Chief Executive, Russell Greenslade, Swansea Bay Business Club President Alan Brayley, and representatives from Castell Howell, Corgi Socks, Something Different Wholesale, and Jackie James, talking about the pressing issues they have been dealing with over the past 12 months. It is great to see a sharp focusing falling upon retail, which has been very much top of mind for the public, The Government and local authorities during this past year. We know, thanks to the contact we have with BIDs and with town and city centre managers across Europe and the wider world, that despite this very tough landscape, we are leading the way in best practice here in Swansea when it comes to dealing with the pandemic and mitigating its effects upon our economy. WATCH THE DISCUSSION HERE BID BALLOT As you know, 2021 is a BID ballot year, and you can find Swansea BID’s draft proposal for 2021 to 2026 on the BID website. Please take some time to read it and to find out what some of our plans are for the important next stage for Swansea city centre, should we be successful in the ballot. 2021 - 2026 SWANSEA BID PROPOSAL YES! YES! www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] SWANSEA HIGH STREET HITS THE SWEET SPOT FOR MAZZA TREATZ We were happy to help Mazza Treatz get some attention in the regional media, which picked up on our True Heart story about the High Street proving to be the sweet spot for Muz and Safyan. Our True Heart features on Big Heart’s Instagram and Facebook feeds are very popular with consumers and they are often picked up by regional press – which helps to spread the word about our BID are businesses. If you have an interesting story to tell about the founding of your firm, about an innovation, or plans for the future, please get in touch and we will do our best to feature you. PARKING PLANS AS THE CITY CENTRE REOPENS We know many of you will be thinking about parking plans as the city centre starts to reopen. Parking in all Swansea Council-run city centre car parks continues to cost just £1 for 1 hour and £2 all day from 9.30am – and free on Sundays. Our Early Bird and ParkPass, which gives reduced parking rates for city centre workers in NCP car parks, are still in place. To take advantage of the ParkPass offer please use the app that can be found on App store or Play Store - the cards are now discontinued. There is a 42 percent reduction on parking season tickets for city centre workers at High Street and St David’s multi storey car parks. www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] MORE BID BENEFITS Don’t forget about other BID Benefits available to you, including: Free listing of any vacancies or volunteer opportunities on the Swansea BID job board A free Am I Ready? onsite consultation from Beacon Compliance to help you with food safety management checks A one-hour Business Restart Session from Business Butler 10 percent discount on all fire risk assessments from Green Hat Consulting A four-ball session at Fairwood Golf Club 10 percent discount on the golf day at Impromptu Golf Service 50 percent discount on mortgage arrangement fees from The Mortgage Advice Bureau for all staff of BID businesses Free registration and a discounted day rate to all city centre staff at the School House Nurseries, on the Kingsway Please go to the BID website to find full terms and conditions regarding these offers and more. KEEP IN TOUCH, STAY INFORMED Make sure you keep up to date with all the latest BID news that affects your business, by updating your contact details with us. Simply scan this QR code: We update our social media channels and VISIT OUR DOCUMENTS website with the most recent news from PAGE HERE the Welsh Government so please keep an VISIT OUR NEWS eye on these. PAGE HERE Many thanks to our BID area businesses for continuing to be mindful of the guidance from the Welsh Government regarding washing hands, wearing face coverings and being strict about who they come into contact with in their daily lives. We’re all in this together. www.swanseabid.co.uk | [email protected] Swansea Business Improvements Limited | 1 Picton Lane | Swansea | SA1 4AF.