BID management

The BID will be managed by Plymouth City Centre Company (PCCC). As an independent, not-for-profit company, PCCC will be directly accountable to retailers for the management of the city centre and the successful delivery of the BID.

The Company’s Board consists of property owners, retailers, University of Plymouth and the City Council. Ten of the twelve strong Board of Directors are from the private sector. Annual BID activities and budgets will be developed and overseen by the Board, assisted by sub-groups with a strong retail presence, giving retailers a real say in project delivery and day to day issues. In addition, as members of the City Centre Company, businesses will also have a vote on major decisions.

Performance indicators will be measured

Aim

Monitoring the city centre’s performance is important to:

• establish its economic, social and cultural health
• identify trends in its performance
• highlight areas requiring remedial action
• monitor the impact of major strategies and developments
• enable benchmark comparisons between Plymouth and other centres
• reassure stakeholders that the city centre is moving forward
• aid existing stakeholders in their investment decisions

Method

The Company will regularly monitor the performance of the city centre, producing quarterly updates to the Board of the Company, along with an annual report available to its members.The following range of performance indicators will be measured, to help establish the attractiveness, vitality and viability of the city centre as a place to shop, visit, work and invest.

Indicators

• Pedestrian flow - monitoring pedestrian flows provides a consistent measure of the city centre’s attractiveness to visitors.
• Retail sales - monitoring retail sales of retailers provides a measure of the centre’s performance in generating turnover.
• Crime rates - the extent to which crime is being reduced is a measure of an increase in the safety and quality of the environment.  In addition, anti-social behaviour, Exclusion Notices and CRASBOS will be monitored.
• Cleansing standards - the Company will employ ENCAMs survey methodology to establish an objective measure of cleansing and other environmental standards.
• Perceptions - satisfaction surveys will be conducted to establish the perceptions of businesses and shoppers on the city centre and BID improvements.
• Car park usage - car park usage is sometimes used to indicate the ability of a centre to attract visitors.  Useful as a means of identifying trends away from car transport to other methods.
• Public transport usage - alongside car park usage, monitoring bus and train usage helps understand the cause of change in car park usage.
• Other KPIs - other KPIs may be included, as appropriate, which could include national/local economic trends, catchment profile, retail ranking, investment rates, tourist visit numbers, hotel occupancy, retail yields, rental values and vacancy rates.