BID aims

The BID will attract more affluent shoppers to Plymouth, through tangible and results-orientated improvements to the trading environment. Retailers will influence the delivery of local services by engaging with the local authority. The BID will make the city centre more attractive, safer, cleaner, accessible and better promoted, thereby strengthening its regional competitiveness.

High levels of private sector control, effective leadership and performance management will help attract match funding and deliver commercial benefits. The BID will deliver a wide range of projects to secure specific and measurable outcomes:

Short-term, retailers will benefit from improved marketing of the city centre, coupled with improved cleansing and security standards for its customers and staff. Longer-term, as more of the BID projects are delivered and existing Council services are improved, Plymouth’s under performance as a retail destination will be tackled. A measured 5% target uplift in footfall, customer profile and retail sales in the BID area by March 2010.

Short-term, property owners and landlords will benefit from the BID through gaining a strong voice in the city centre’s development. Longer-term, property owners and landlords will benefit through increases in property/rental values and fewer voids over the 5 year life of the BID.

City centre vision

The BID is part of a wider strategic framework to modernise Plymouth city centre, attracting new businesses and investment, by creating opportunities for retail, entertainment, office and housing development.

Plymouth has commissioned David Mackay, the eminent international architect, to guide the city’s future development. The Mackay vision aims to establish Plymouth as one of Europe’s finest, most vibrant waterfront cities, offering an outstanding quality of life for all its citizens. It will have world-class buildings, places, spaces and transportation systems, supported by an internationally competitive economy. The delivery of this vision will provide new jobs, new homes, better shopping, leisure facilities and improved public space, focussed on the city centre shopping area and its links to the waterfront.

Major retail developments, such as the new £200m Drake Circus shopping centre, will address the urgent need for larger shop units demanded by modern retailers.

The BID will maximise the benefits of all these developments (and minimise any inconvenience involved in their delivery) across the BID area, by managing city centre change, delivering BID projects and marketing solutions. The Plymouth City Centre Company will provide a strong business voice for the city centre at a time of great change.

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