Love Loughborough Again
Business Improvement District (BID)
Draft Business Plan 2017 -2022
Summary
In October all Town Centre Businesses will have the chance to vote on whether the Love
Loughborough BID should continue for another 5-year term. You’ve told us that you value the work of
the BID so far and what things you’d like us to do to improve the town over the next 5 years.
This Summary gives you the headlines of what we propose. The full Plan is only a draft at the moment,
based on what you’ve told us. We want to be sure you’re happy with it before we publish a final
version in September for you to vote on in October.
You can see a copy of the full Draft Plan by either
- Visiting www.loveloughborough.co.uk/again
- Telephoning Jonathan Hale on 07584 516344 for a copy to be delivered to you
- Attend the drop in sessions below and pick up a copy
Please attend one of our drop-in sessions upstairs at Delice Deli on Baxter Gate
on Wednesday 13th July at either 8.30 am – 10.30 pm or 4.30 pm – 6.30 pm.
You can drop in for as long as you want for a chat with a fellow business or the Management team.
Let us have your comments on the Plan by Tuesday 19th July to: manager@bidloughborough.co.uk
The Future – Your Choice, Your Voice
What will a YES vote mean for Loughborough?
A renewal of the Love Loughborough BID for a further 5 years will mean:
Over £1.2 million of investment for Loughborough Town Centre. This will be supported by the
additional income that we raise as in the BID’s first term
The continuation of proven projects, events and promotions for BID Business and the town
A bold and innovative approach to ensure that Loughborough is at the forefront of thought and
action in town centre regeneration
Nearly 600 businesses being given a voice to influence the future development of the town
The BID Proposal
The BID Area – will stay pretty much the same but will be extended to include all the new cinema and
restaurants on Baxter Gate up to the new road.
The BID Levy – will stay the same at 1.5% of your Rateable Value
Exemptions – you will not pay if you have a Rateable Value of below £2,700 or if you are a non-retail
charity
The Draft BID Business Plan
We will raise about £286,000 a year through a combination of BID levy and other income. The
emphasis will be on projects which will drive footfall to the town and on making Loughborough a
major attraction for residents and visitors. There will be 4 key areas of activity:
1.
SHOUT ABOUT LOUGHBOROUGH
Projects that market and promote the town centre, deliver a range of events and activities, research
visitor behaviour and target specific groups. They will help to make Loughorough a destination of
choice for our natural catchment area and for visitors and tourists from further afield
This theme is extremely important to businesses and it yields the most value in terms of footfall and
spend within the BID area. We want many more events and activities in the Town Centre to bring it to
life more often and for longer. We will work with the two Councils to make the delivery and
management of events more straightforward and to encourage third parties to put on events too. We
will continue to implement and support an annual calendar of events including:
The Father’s Day Classic Car Show
The Santa Fun Run
The Bike Show
Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival - Big Weekend
Christmas Lights Switch On and Event Programme
Loogabarooga Festival
Loughborough Summer Entertainment
Specialist Markets
Free/reduced car parking to support events
We will extend, enhance and target our marketing, promotion and events. We will make the Love
Loughborough Loyalty Card smarter and build on its success with a more sector-focused approach to
marketing. We will use all media available to market what Loughborough has to offer – outdoor, online
and print advertising, social media campaigns, direct-mailings and events promotion – to profile
Loughborough as a destination of choice.
Car parking offers during the first term of the BID were highly popular with BID businesses. We will
continue these into a second term and hopefully expand them, sharing the cost with Charnwood
Borough Council.
The Love Loughborough website has news, special offers and event information. It will be continuously
developed and updated, alongside our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr) pages.
In our first term we introduced the first phase of a free Wi-Fi scheme in the main pedestrianised area.
We will expand this so that the whole BID area benefits from free Wi-Fi. The system allows us to track
consumer behaviour, monitor footfall and dwell time and also to send information and marketing
messages direct to people while they are in town.
2.
ENJOY LOUGHBOROUGH
Projects that improve the appearance of the town and make it feel safer, more attractive and more
welcoming.
Businesses are keen to see the continuation of the Christmas lights, bunting and hanging baskets and the
BID will continue to provide these. We will explore with the Council how these services can be more
efficiently managed and delivered and to look at ongoing improvements and investment.
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We will lobby the Councils to keep the town clean and tidy, whether this means addressing graffiti removal,
pigeon fouling or general cleanliness and tidying up after the market or keeping the new bus shelters clean.
We will work with the Police, keeping business informed of any new intelligence, incidents and trends. We
will support and extend the Retail Radio scheme. We will be active participants in the new Town Centre
Crime and Safety Group and will support the work of Pubwatch.
We will work with Leicestershire Police to roll out FaceWatch – a new retail crime reporting and
information sharing system. We will support the town’s application for accreditation under the Purple Flag
Scheme – the national standard for safe town centres.
We will dress vacant units and help to get them occupied. We will support town centre redevelopment
projects through our input into the review of the Town Centre Master Plan. In particular we will press for
the funding and implementation of public realm improvements in Bedford Square, Devonshire Square and
Wards End.
3.
ADDING VALUE & STRATEGY
Projects that add value to the overall aims and objectives of the business plan by providing direct
support to businesses to help them trade most effectively and efficiently.
The Free Recycling scheme has been extremely popular, with over 200 businesses benefitting from it. The
BID team has negotiated a new contract for this scheme ensuring its continuation over the next 5 years.
Business support and development has been an important element in helping new and young businesses to
trade well and survive. Our work in this area has been made possible by grants from the Portas scheme and
from the council’s Growth Support Fund. We will continue to seek such funding.
We will keep BID businesses informed of events and offers as well as opportunities to network and raise
issues with each other, the BID team and with other key stakeholders. We will improve the BID member
business website, raising awareness of it, communicating our progress on it and feeding back to businesses
how the BID levy is being spent and the impact it is having. We will also send out regular e-mails and
newsletters to BID businesses.
4.
BUSINESS VOICE - The BID as the Voice of Loughborough Business
Actions to promote the views and interests of town centre businesses in response to official
consultations from local and central government and through championing particular issues and causes
that have a bearing on the town centre
We will continue to lobby for you on issues such as business rates and car parking. We will continue to raise
awareness of your needs and to source additional funding and expertise from external bodies to add value
to your own contributions (e.g. Healthy High Streets, Portas Pilot, Revive and Thrive).
We will work with the two Councils to play our part in the delivery of their key projects and to ensure the
voice of business is heard. In particular we will press for:
An early review of the Loughborough Town Centre Masterplan
The provision of a new multi-storey car park as recommended by the Council’s parking consultants
The implementation of the various recommendations of the Council’s parking review, particularly the
provision of parking for employees and the delivery of free parking initiatives
The introduction of a single regulatory regime covering all of the pedestrianised areas
The simplification and streamlining of event delivery and management
The redevelopment of the key town centre opportunity sites
The attraction of inward investment
The implementation of the Marketing Strategy for the various markets and a review of the operation
of the Market
A new Christmas lighting scheme for the town centre
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Love Loughborough BID
Proposed Income & Expenditure Accounts - 2017-2022
£286,000
£256,000
£30,000
£50,000
£286,000
£256,000
£30,000
£100,000
£50,000
£286,000
£256,000
£30,000
£40,000
£100,000
£50,000
£286,000
£256,000
£30,000
£10,000
£40,000
£100,000
£50,000
£286,000
£256,000
£30,000
£1,000,000
£50,000
£200,000
£500,000
£250,000
£1,430,000
£1,280,000
£150,000
5 Year Totals
£50,000
£100,000
£40,000
£10,000
£200,000
£300,000
£87,500
£42,500
£430,000
2021/22
ENJOY LOUGHBOROUGH
£100,000
£40,000
£10,000
£200,000
£60,000
£17,500
£8,500
£86,000
£1,430,000
2020/21
SHOUT ABOUT LOUGHBOROUGH
£40,000
£10,000
£200,000
£60,000
£17,500
£8,500
£86,000
£286,000
£0
2019/20
ADDING VALUE & STRATEGY
£10,000
£200,000
£60,000
£17,500
£8,500
£86,000
£286,000
£0
2018/19
VOICE OF BUSINESS
£200,000
£60,000
£17,500
£8,500
£86,000
£286,000
£0
2017/18
Subtotal
£60,000
£17,500
£8,500
£86,000
£286,000
£0
Item
Income
BID Levy
Additional Income*
*based upon historial sponsorship revenues
Total Income
Overheads
Core Staff (combination of full/part-time staff)
Levy Collection Costs
Contingency
Subtotal
£286,000
£0
Expenditure
Total Expenditure
Running Surplus/Deficit
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