Historical development

Plymouth City Centre Partnership was established in 1996 to co-ordinate development, marketing and the wider regeneration of Plymouth city centre through a ‘single focus’ steering group representing all stakeholders. The Partnership employed an independent City Centre Manager in 1998 with strong support from retailers, developers, landlords and the local authority.

An early objective was the creation of a single strategic vision for the city centre, with the City Centre Management Team having sole accountability for co-ordinating all service delivery without the traditional (confusing) split between the public and private sectors. The City Centre Team consisted of both Council and independently funded staff with accountability to the City Centre Partnership, under the direction of the City Centre Manager.

In Plymouth it was recognised that the city centre’s shopping experience needed to compete with the sanitised, managed environment of shopping centres and retail parks, and this formed a vital element of the Council’s strategy to attract shoppers back to the city centre. Plymouth city centre is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of investment, with work commenced on a £200 million flagship shopping centre in 2004, due to be opened on 5 October 2006.

The Partnership established a track record of delivery, levering both public and private investment including:

1996: City Centre Vitality Package £1.6m - environmental improvements, new lighting, street performance programme

1997: City Centre Action Plan package £2.0m - CCTV improvements, urban design guide, car park improvements

1998: West End Revival Package £1.5m - improvements to independent sector and market quarter

2000: SRB 6 funding £560k - funding new Armada Way event space, JC Decaux new bus shelters and public information scheme,·Home Office Challenge fund £1m,nNew Christmas Lights £200k

The Partnership’s strategic focus was strongly supported by quality research and data from both the private sector and the Council’s Strategic Planning Unit. This research included a shopping survey, asset management plan and architectural/spatial analysis. The strategy was focused on the modernisation of the post-war shopping environment; with its legacy of very small retail units, ageing retail facilities (no covered shopping), a poor retail mix and the lack of leisure and residential uses.

The Plymouth Partnership

Prior to the BID the City Centre Management structure included a team of 10 FTE (excluding project and admin staff) and was resourced with an annual budget of over £2m. (excluding grant funding). The City Centre Team’s responsibilities included both direct delivery of Council services, and wider city centre management activities. The team were accountable for overall strategy, CCTV, urban design and the public realm, markets, street trading, events and marketing, publications, retail exclusion scheme, radio link, street wardens, Christmas lights, service co-ordination and stakeholder communications. All income raised from entrepreneurial activities and the commercial use of city centre space was ring fenced for future projects.

Business Improvement Districts

Plymouth’s decision to seek a business mandate for a BID was driven by two key factors: the extension of a successful city centre management scheme, and the desire to give the private sector a genuine stake in the reconstruction of the city centre.

The BID also challenged traditional council ways of working. Retailers required to see clear baseline service agreements before committing to further expenditure. The council embraced this challenge, creating output-based service levels agreements and a new city centre company to act as an independent client ensuring excellence. The BID also challenged retailers, to appreciate the difficult resource decisions facing a modern local authority.

It is important to recognise that the development of a Business Improvement District followed on from the partnerships clear record of delivery.

The local authority also recognised the importance of a private sector led city centre partnership. The politicians and officers were prepared to empower this new organisation to deliver many services previously managed by local authority departments).

Equally the private sector had, prior to the BID’s launch, recognised its responsibility and contributed and supported the development of an organisation providing a broad range of membership services (240+ members before the BIDs launch).

The Plymouth BID would not have been considered unless this level of partnership status had been reached.

The BID provided additional services to the city centre business community and formalised the commitment of all stakeholders through the establishment of Plymouth City Centre Company Limited.

The objectives of the BID include:

• a vehicle to raise the profile of Plymouth to shoppers, and inward investors
• to raise standards of existing service provision through service level agreements
• the provision of new high quality business led services through a City Centre Company
• the creation of a major capital program funded by retailers, landlords, the RDA and the City Council
• an end to retail freeloading by securing contributions from all retailers to the BID’s work

The BID seeks to improve the shopping experience by targeted increased investment in the public realm, improving the quality of street furniture, new improved lighting, better city centre signage, planting and landscaping. In addition a business led program of promotional activity will  target a new larger retail catchment area in Devon and Cornwall with a specific focus on the day visitor markets.

Steps towards a BID

The BID process was business led with retailers contributing at each stage, and was facilitated by the City Centre Management Team.

Businesses were approached and asked to provide nothing more than an open mind! Detailed surveys of both retailers and shoppers were conducted to identify business needs. Potential projects were developed and prioritised by key stakeholders using an innovative electronic voting system, whereby businesses were asked to prioritise the projects they wished to support. A Business Plan was produced, driven by these business needs, which formed the basis for the eventual ballot.

So as to manage the communication process the city centre was divided into eight sectors and 40 retail ambassadors were briefed. These ambassadors represented both national and local retailers, and they supported the City Centre Management Team in communicating to the 500+ businesses within the proposed BID area.

Detailed service agreements were established with all the Local Authority departments. Areas covered included:

• CCTV
• Street trading
• Cleaning
• Public conveniences
• Highway maintenance
• Grounds maintenance (planting)
• Street lighting
• Staff cards (existing City Centre Team)
• Leisure (Christmas lights)
• Car parking (operational and improvements)

A successful BID ballot was conducted during the Spring of 2005, with a boundary of 520+ businesses. A 1% BID levy was supported by 77% of the businesses and 66% of the R.V. Turnout was 58%.

The BID Board has an annual expenditure in excess of £500,000. During 2005-2006, the BID has:

• delivered a cleaner city centre, through a rapid response clean team and mechanised street sweeping (independent surveys have been used to evidence improved cleaning standards)
• targeted low-level anti-social behaviour, by introducing city centre street wardens and extending existing ‘PARC’ retail exclusion scheme (winner of the 2006 Safer Business Award)
• targeting new potential shoppers by establishing four major events and promoting them across Plymouth’s catchment population
• improved the city centre’s attractiveness, by providing new Christmas lighting and floral planting displays
• ensured that business interests are represented on city centre issues eg representations on major planning applications, Local Transport Plan and car parking strategies

Following detailed consultations with businesses, including a ‘Plymouth BID Ambassadors Conference’ held in October 2005, it has been confirmed that during 2006-2007 the BID’s main focus will be:

• cleanliness, with a particular focus on graffiti and chewing gum removal, combined with educational campaigns
• anti-social behaviour, including the addition of (or replacement of the existing wardens) with Police Community Safety Officers
• expansion of all four major BID events eg Flavour Fest food event to be run over a whole week
• establish a new Fashion Week event in September 2006
• develop a new city centre pedestrian signage initiative
• investigate match funding opportunities for city centre public space and street furniture improvements
• ensure that the opening of the new Drake Circus shopping centre benefits the whole business community in the city, including a particular focus on the market quarter

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