Wickford BID Newsletter -May 25
The Wickford BID team wanted to introduce themselves, give you an update on the changes you voted for, and let you all know what we have coming up over the next few months.
The BID is made up of three company directors, taken from the Wickford Business community, and they are supported by the Town Team who are Wickford business holders and stakeholders, all these roles are voluntary. The BID manager is employed to oversee and facilitate the decisions made by the team on your behalf. The BID meets once a month.
Many of you have already paid the Levy to the BID, these monies will all go into improving the Town and help your businesses thrive, so we thank you for your timely payments.
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The Consultation promised to deliver on the following:
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Events and Marketing:
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Vibrant events – we are already mid-way through organising our first event. A Night Market to be held in Lower Southend Road on 21st June from 6pm. A unique event for Wickford designed at showcasing our local businesses in Lower Southend Road, The Broadway and Runwell Road, alongside Street Food, Handcrafted Goods, Entertainment and more….
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We have several exciting ideas to improve the footfall to Wickford both during the day and to support the Night-time economy, some of these are still in the set-up stage, so keep an eye out for further updates from us.
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Social Media and Website - these are already up and running, and more content will be added shortly. A Local Business Index will be introduced, with photographs of each Wickford Town Centre Business, and a feature on an individual business each month.
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Safety and Security:
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Business Crime Reduction Partnership – The BID Manager is in contact with the Basildon Police Business Crime Team and is currently exploring the ShopSafe system. The BID team is looking into private security patrols across the Town Centre to combat crime and Anti-Social Behaviour, ensuring the town is a welcoming and safe place for shoppers.
Business Community & Engagement:
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Business Crime Information Sharing- Part of the discussions with the Business Crime Team revolves around TownLink Radios and the Alert system. Further research is being made into these systems with a view to bringing them to you, to allow you to share information with your business neighbours, Police and the CCTV office, which is hopefully due an upgrade.
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Business Networking- The Team will be hosting Business Partnership meetings later in the year, for you to all come along, chat with other business owners, staff and local Stakeholders, and find out how Wickford BID is working for you.
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What has happened so far:
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On Wednesday 30th April all the groups volunteering to improve Wickford Town Centre were invited to a meeting with The BID, we believe that working in partnership is the only way to work.
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On Saturday May 3rd The Bid held a public consultation on what your customers had to say about the town. The data from this will be collated and published soon.
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The necessary plans and notifications have been submitted to Basildon Council, Residents and Business owners so that the Mid Summer’s Night Market on the 21st June can be held safely. If you are a business in the immediate area, please get in touch with the Bid Manager if you wish to take part in the event and stay open from 6pm -10pm
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The Team at the Wickford BID are researching the possibility of asking for a Rates valuation review, to see if that would bring your business rates down, the only issue is they might value them as higher than they currently are. Before we go ahead with this move, we would want your input, so please let us know what you think, would you like us to give it a go, or would you rather not risk it?
If you wish to join the Wickford BID as either a Director or Town Team consultant, and be part of the decision making, please get in touch.
Kindest Regards
Emma Jones
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