InExeter Celebrates 20 Years of BIDs and £1 Billion Invested in UK Towns and Cities
October 2024 marks 20 years since the anniversary of the first business improvement district pilot, with £1bn invested in local services and events to improve towns and cities for communities and business.
20 BIDs were formed with the original pilot in 2003 and then brought into law with the UK regulations act the following year.
InExeter is now one of 340 BIDs operating across the UK. A business improvement district is a defined area of a town or city where a levy is charged on all eligible business rate payers. BID levies are voted for via a ballot which takes place every five years.
Currently, BIDs invest £152m annually in local economies across the country, helping to support investment in towns and cities. Contributions from Exeter’s business community amount to £500,000 per year invested in improving the city centre.
Day-to-day BID services include street cleaning, removing graffiti, security, connecting businesses and networking. InExeter’s focus this year has been on improving community safety in the city centre as well as delivering award-winning planting and a dedicated street cleansing service to its members.
Nicola Wheeler is CEO of InExeter the Business Improvement District for Exeter: "BIDs were created to forge a strong partnership between the public and private sectors, providing a structure for investment that supports city centre businesses. We are agile, able to mobilise quickly to meet business needs and exist because businesses vote for us to deliver change. Through strategic investment and partnerships, we’ve improved the public realm and business environment. It’s inspiring to reflect on what’s been achieved over the past 20 years across the country and we’re excited for what’s next. Here's to the next 20!”
Michele Wilby is the CEO Colmore BID and Co-Chair The BID Foundation: “20 years is a significant milestone in the relationship between the management and development of the public realm and between the public and private sector. BIDs are a key mechanism to enable businesses to have a greater role in the animation, the narrative and the appearance of their towns and city centres.
Investment in the public realm is vital if we are to continue to create places where people can thrive, and we know the pressures that have been on the public purse over the last decade and a half. As a result, BIDs have proactively stepped into the role of delivering cultural activity, of attracting visitors and enhancing tourism locally, as well as connecting and empowering the voice of business on both a local and regional level.
Investment and placemaking go hand in hand. For BIDs, it’s about everyone working together and everyone feeling they have a say - that’s what creates successful places.”
One key project for InExeter which has received public awareness as well as benefiting businesses has been the 10 Street Art Commissions by InExeter. Since 2022, InExeter has collaborated with local and national artists to transform overlooked areas into vibrant, colourful spaces. InExeter has been serving the city for 10 years, and this November, businesses in the BID area will vote on whether to continue this investment for another five years. If the renewal ballot is successful, InExeter plans to commission 10 more artworks between 2025 and 2030.
For 20 years of BIDs, here is a list of 20 different projects from other BIDs that are having an impact in their towns and cities.
Brixton Orchard
Brixton BID created Brixton Orchard in 2016, a new community orchard designed to make use of forgotten land and to provide greening and better-quality air on one of the most polluted roads in the capital.
Bristol Light Festival
Redcliffe and Temple BID supports the city’s annual ten-day Bristol Light festival, working alongside Bristol City Centre BID. Held each February the festival fills the city with light and colour.
Winter Lights
York BID’s Winter Lights illuminates historic buildings, trees and lamp posts across York, with garlands, drop lights and solar powered Christmas trees. York is regularly voted the UK’s most festive city.
Carnival of the World
Reading BID worked with CultureMix to bring EKO the Sea Giant to Reading as part of the Carnival of the World celebrations in Summer 2022. EKO is a nationally renowned travelling theatre group putting on events across the country.
Trooping the Corgis
To celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June, Altrincham BID and Inch Arts produced Altrincham’s largest town wide art event – ‘Trooping the Corgis.’ The parading troop of fifty life-sized corgi sculptures, which were decorated by different artists, community groups and schools, were on guard throughout June and were displayed in the windows and foyers of shops and businesses around the town. After the exhibition, the Corgis were auctioned to raise funds for community art projects as well as supporting the artists involved.
Romford in Bloom
Romford BID has worked to transform urban areas within the town with floral displays, and Romford was a finalist in Britain in Bloom in 2023.
Summer Screens
Vauxhall ONE added to Vauxhall’s summer programme with Summer Screens, free outdoor summer screenings of feel-good movies.
Super Soapbox
Bradford BID supports one of the city’s most popular events, the Super Soapbox, seeing racers compete in a course through the city centre.
Marble Arch Community
Over 30 charities and social enterprises have their offices or deliver services within Marble Arch BID, and 11,000 children go to school within 15 minutes of the BID. Through community projects like planting and skill sharing, the BID connects businesses with community groups.
Newcastle Quayside
Since 2018, Newcastle BID has invested in Quayside, helping to create an iconic waterfront location. Creating a trail and events, engaging with stakeholders and partners, the work Newcastle BID is doing helps to increase time spent at Quayside, encourage investment and enhance the area and public realm.
Bikes for Cargo
Team London Bridge’s Bikes for Business offers a fast and clean alternative to motorised deliveries in London.
Leeds International Festival
Leeds BID’s Leeds International festival of Ideas brings together leaders, pioneers and creators to the city for a programme of events at Leeds Playhouse.
Business Litter pick
Part of the work of BIDs is to encourage business engagement in the local community. Canterbury BID’s business litter picks see local firms help to keep the city clean and tidy.
Work in Norwich
Norwich BID’s Work in Norwich campaign shines a spotlight on the city as a place to live and work.
Dorkensian Christmas
Dorking BID works with the town each year to celebrate Christmas. The Very Dorkensian Christmas Festival sees music, entertainment and food across Dorking.
Liverpool Restaurant Week
In early Spring, Liverpool BID organises Restaurant Week, celebrating the city’s hospitality sector and showcasing the best way to explore the city plate by plate. With dedicated offers, the team works with venues across the city centre to create a sense of place and championing the food and drink offer in one of the UK’s most popular city break destinations.
P!NK
Sunderland BID helped to organise a programme of events around P!NK’s two nights of concerts on Wearside, with magical characters around the city centre and animation.
Wombles of Wimbledon
Love Wimbledon embraced their most famous residents for a mural to celebrate sustainability and placemaking. The Wombles mural was unveiled in 2020.
Spooky Season
Be Richmond’s pumpkin trail takes visitors through the town to celebrate Halloween.
Shop Redesign
We Are Waterloo invested over £30,000 into the renovation of 10 shopfronts located throughout the Waterloo area.
Transforming the public realm
Part of the central work of BIDs is to enhance the public realm, making it a better place for those who live and work in towns and cities. At Colmore BID, Dressing the District has invested in projects including hanging baskets and flower towers, places to sit and hold events and an open-air gallery to bring art into the public realm.
