05 May 2023
Although the acronym is mentioned in connection with various activities within St Albans city centre, there are still some people none the wiser about the remit of St Albans BID (a nationwide abbreviation for Business Improvement District, whether there is a need for improvement or not!), and its relationship with the district council.
In fact, the BID is an umbrella organisation which represents the business community within a defined area of central St Albans. They receive a compulsory levy payment of just under £500,000 from their members paying business rates of £12K or more, which they aim to use to support a commercially vibrant, thriving, sustainable and resilient city centre.
The BID is not part of SADC and does not receive any grants from the council. Neither is it there to replace existing public services, but instead offers something that goes above and beyond what is provided, the “icing on the cake” as it were.
This coming visitor season will see a new team at the helm of the organisation – manager Vivien Cannon (pictured) and communications, marketing and destination manager Kate Cohen – offering a fresh start after a degree of controversy in recent years.
“People have their own perceptions of what we do, but don’t follow through by asking us directly,” Vivien explained. “We’re all about opening up dialogue, empowering and supporting our levy-payers.”
This includes answering questions about topics as diverse as licensing, buskers, chuggers and pedestrianisation, but also encouraging businesses to take action themselves, in case there is a time in the future when the BID no longer exists.
There is one area which the BID will not be venturing into again, however.
“We have no intention of running markets,” Vivien insisted. “Our job is to promote the Charter Market as a destination.”
The Inside-Out markets which the BID operated during Covid were designed to give retailers another opportunity to trade under social-distancing restrictions, but met with accusations of undermining the city’s celebrated Charter Market. As restrictions lifted, they quietly vanished, along with the BID Rangers who had helped during the pandemic.
She also clarified the BID’s stance on city centre road closures: “We’ve got to remain neutral – we’re here to facilitate feedback. We have QR codes on posters and signage and have messaged businesses directing them to comment. We’re not a statutory authority, we’re there to advocate and represent, so we have no powers and can’t have a view on issues like this.
“We’ve established conversations between Herts county council and businesses pro- and anti-pedestrianisation, and we support a well-run trial, not a half-hearted one, which needed both a winter and summer season to assess the next move.”
The BID also doesn’t receive any cash from the district council to run city centre activities, despite suggestions from some quarters, and actually contributes grants to events – including £30,000 on last year’s Jubilee Weekend, Food and Drink Festival and Christmas Cracker – or provides complimentary attractions, such as the court jesters planned for this year’s medieval-themed
Alban Weekend.
What it also does is provide financial aid for initiatives aimed at driving footfall in the city centre – which saw an increase of more than 200K between December ’21 and ’22 – and supporting the business community which remains at the heart of its ethos.
This has included £5K for Shop Mobility to maintain their scooters and wheelchairs, £1,500 towards the ShopSafe radio scheme linking retailers to SADC’s CCTV service, Easter and Christmas trails, a choir for Valentine’s weekend, work with local historians to improve the heritage alleyways, and £68,000 on Christmas lights and street decorations.
The St Albans Visitor Guide is distributed to locations within a two-hour drive of the city with a view of attracting day tourists, but also provides a useful guide to residents wanting to know what is going on locally over the course of the year.
“Local people are just as important to us as visitors,” insisted Vivien. “They are our bread and butter, they value our independent businesses and we want to build really good relations with them.”
Some of these residents now sit on the BID board, which is open to anyone who lives and/or works in the city, especially if they can bring skills to the mix which are unrepresented by other members.
The current make-up of directors includes Sarah Gillow from Galio jewellers in George Street, Leafy owner Oliver Zissman, former councillor Mandy McNeil and senior Barclays director Paul Bedi.
After several years where messages from the BID might have been seen as lacking, the new team aims to promote better communication via newsletters and social media, while also increasing opportunities to meet them face-to-face.
Vivien added: “St Albans made a good recovery post-Covid, but then businesses were hit with new challenges from Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, so times are hard again.
“But we’re looking to the future and want to be responsive to our levy payers, so we can be seen to be delivering on what they appreciate and understand.”
