20 Aug 2026
St Albans City Centre BID is ramping up its campaign to secure a third five-year tenure with the launch of a business plan setting out its vision for the future.
Established in 2017, the not-for-profit BID was set up to represent a mix of retail, leisure, hospitality, office and service-based businesses across the city centre, with objectives including enhancing the trading environment, increasing footfall, improving perceptions of the city centre, supporting business growth and strengthening safety and securing initiatives.
Its defined area extends north to border St Peter’s church, east to Upper Marlborough and Marlborough Road, south to Holywell Hill and west to Verulam Road, and its operations are financed by a levy collected from approximately 546 businesses within this zone.
This includes managing the Enjoy St Albans website, delivering the Shop Safe radio scheme, providing floral planters, hanging banners and seasonal lighting displays, and running events including George Street Gin and Jazz, the Pop-Up Beach and Alban Day.
Levy-paying businesses will be invited to vote in a ballot on whether the BID continues or folds between September 7 and October 8, with the result expected to be declared on Friday October 9.
A survey of 544 of these took place in May, and received 187 responses, with 57.6 per cent from independent businesses and 42.4 per cent from multinational chains. Of these, 65 per cent said they supported a third term while 24 per cent remain undecided.
Almost nine in 10 respondents (89.3 per cent) said they were aware of the BID and its activities, while 85 per cent backed its work producing visitor and customer guides, visitor communication, events and activations. More than eight in 10 businesses (82 per cent) supported seasonal lighting and floral displays, with 83 per cent supporting BID newsletters and social communications.
Businesses identified environmental and sustainability initiatives as a key priority, with other key issues including cost reduction programmes, and city centre analytics and data provision.
The new business plan responds to financial pressures local retailers are under by reducing the levy rate from 2.19 per cent to 1.85 per cent in the first year of the proposed term, and also commits to approximately £3.1m investment over the next five years.
BID chair Sarah Gallow, director of Galio Jewellers, said: “As levy-paying businesses ourselves, it was important that this business plan genuinely reflected the views of the businesses we represent. This has been a collaborative process from the outset, bringing together the experience of the BID board, the BID team and, most importantly, the businesses that invest in the BID every year.
“Businesses told us what they value, what they want us to continue delivering and where they want to see future investment. We’ve also listened to the financial pressures businesses are facing, which is why the levy rate will reduce in the first year of the proposed term while we continue to focus on making every pound deliver the greatest possible value.”
The BID’s campaign for renewal has won the support of many local retailers, who have already said they will be voting ‘yes’ in the forthcoming ballot, including Tony Earley, owner of Earley’s: “BID does an amazing job at promoting St Albans and its attractions to people who visit. In this new landscape of online shopping it’s so important to show the human real life side of the city from its history, buildings and atmosphere!”
Thippi Rashleigh, owner of Sala Thai said: “BID St Albans has been an incredible support for local businesses like ours. They’ve helped us promote our events through the Enjoy St Albans website and their social media, which has really boosted our visibility in the community. The networking events they organise have also been invaluable – especially when we first started – giving us the chance to connect with other local businesses and feel part of the St Albans community.”
Alan Hartwell, chief operating officer at St Albans Cathedral said: “The Cathedral, as the city’s largest visitor attraction, has consistently collaborated with the BID on initiatives that support tourism, culture and city centre vibrancy.
“By elevating the profile of St Albans across the city centre, the BID has increased tourism and economic benefits while fostering positive partnerships and engagement that strengthen the Cathedral’s role at the heart of the city.
“From our perspective, the 2025 Alban Day was beautifully complemented by the festival activity delivered in partnership with the BID across the city centre and in the Cathedral’s orchard.”
Dale Lobban, owner of The Big Picture Reborn said: “I’m going to vote yes because St Albans needs it. I think anything that promotes St Albans and makes it attractive can only do us good. I think it’s a great thing. I think if the BID goes I don’t know where that funding is going to come from.”
BID manager Vivien Cannon added: “This ballot gives levy-paying businesses the opportunity to shape the future of St Albans city centre. With major changes ahead for local government in Hertfordshire, including the Government’s decision to create a new West Hertfordshire unitary authority covering St Albans and Dacorum, having a strong, independent voice for city centre businesses will be more important than ever.
“The BID gives businesses that voice, alongside the ability to invest directly in the priorities that matter to them. We encourage every levy payer to read the business plan, ask questions, share feedback and, most importantly, use their vote. The future of the BID – and the voice businesses have in shaping the city centre through this period of change – is in their hands.”
The campaign for renewal comes following a St Albans Times report which saw mixed responses from many city centre businesses as to whether the BID was worthwhile and provided value for money.
Owner of George Street Canteen Julie Lee said she did not see any added value from the levy she pays: “I think there are a lot of things that the BID does that are not relevant to a lot of the businesses.”
Marc Trinder of Trinder Hair Studios in George Street said: “I see value in the payment, however I feel what it is spent on should be covered by the business rates we have to pay.”
Sam Campagna of Barbone barbers in High Street said it’s quite difficult to quantify value but that he thinks BID has “an overall positive effect on the city”. He added that their events and displays bring business to St Albans but that he is not particularly sure what the levy gives and that unfortunately, like most businesses at the moment he is focused on keeping it moving forward and so just pays it in good faith.
Restaurateur Andrei Lussman of Lussmans said he sees no value from the levy payment and doesn’t like the art installations around the city, considering them a poor use of funds.
The Maltings Shopping Centre manager Richard Marrett said he did not believe that St Albans BID is currently delivering the level of performance or value that it should, and called for a renewed commitment to meaningful engagement with levy payers, greater transparency over expenditure, improved efficiency in the use of levy funds, and full disclosure of accounts.
We asked BID manager Vivien Cannon it she was surprised by some of the negative comments: “Not every business will have the same experience or priorities, and we welcome constructive feedback. That’s why we carried out a business survey and spent many months speaking directly with levy payers while developing the new business plan.
“The feedback we received, whether positive or critical, has helped us shape our priorities for the next five years. Listening to businesses isn’t something we do once every five years before a ballot – it’s something we do continually, and we will always strive to improve our day-to-day communication with levy payers.”
When it came to individual requests from levy payers, she said they couldn’t deliver on all of these, as their focus must be on projects and services that benefit the wider city centre business community.
Previous BID managers, including Denise Parsons and Helen Burridge, have been well-known public figures, something Vivien perhaps hasn’t achieved.
She said the BID has always been bigger than any one person, and she has taken a different approach as manager: “For me, it’s about being accessible to businesses, listening to what they need and getting on with delivering the work.
“I’m incredibly passionate about St Albans and the businesses we represent. I spend a lot of my time meeting levy payers, visiting businesses, building partnerships and working with the team and board to deliver the business plan.
“Some of that work is visible and some happens behind the scenes, but the focus is always on what will make the greatest difference for the city centre. Ultimately, the success of the BID is measured by what it delivers for St Albans, not by the profile of any one individual.”
She said she is proud of the partnerships the BID has built and what has been achieved together, including winning Herts police’s Partnership Award in 2025.
“The last five years have presented significant challenges for businesses, but we’ve continued to bring businesses together, market the city, deliver events, improve the public areas, support community safety and represent business interests. No individual business could deliver those projects alone. That’s exactly why the BID exists.”
Some of the criticisms aimed at the BID were a case of retailers being misinformed about what it actually does – is this not a communication failure Viv and her team are responsible for?
“We take our responsibility to communicate with levy payers seriously. Business owners are incredibly busy and engage with information in different ways, so our job is to keep finding ways to reach them clearly and consistently
“We communicate through newsletters, social media, our website, business visits, networking events, meetings, SMS and direct conversations, but face-to-face engagement is often the most valuable.
“Some of the most constructive conversations I’ve had have started with a business getting in touch with a concern or question, and I genuinely welcome that.
“Communication works best when it is two-way, and we want levy payers to talk to us, ask questions and understand how their levy is being invested.”
From George Street gin and jazz to the light installations at Christmas and Valentine’s, there are many things which the BID brings back year after year. Is it not time for some new events to avoid being seen as resting on their laurels?
“Businesses consistently tell us they value many of the BID’s established activities, so it is right that successful initiatives continue. They also tell us their customers value these activities and that they help create reasons to visit the city centre, supporting footfall and spend. But we don’t stand still.
“The consultation identified areas where businesses want the BID to evolve, including sustainability, business support, city centre insight and cost reduction programmes.
“The BID evolves as business needs evolve. Rather than introducing new initiatives for the sake of it, we’ll focus on delivering what businesses have told us they need.
“The business plan sets the direction, but we’ll continue listening and adapting throughout the five-year term. Our focus is on making every pound work as effectively as possible for the city centre.”
What would happen if the BID isn’t renewed?
“The difference would be visible, and everything levy payers told us they wanted in the survey would stop.
“No BID-funded flowers and floral displays, bunting, Christmas lights and installations, city centre events or activities – many of the extras that help make St Albans welcoming, vibrant and distinctive.
“But the impact goes beyond what you see on the streets. ShopSafe, destination marketing, business communications, networking, business support and representation would also end. The BID would cease operating on March 31 2027 and approximately £3.1 million of proposed investment over the following five years would no longer be available through the BID.
“These are services and improvements businesses and visitors have come to associate with St Albans. Without a third term, these aren’t services that simply carry on – the BID-funded activity stops.”
