Although I’m busy working on strategic sustainable placemaking on a day to day basis now, returning to the world of BIDs through the National BID Awards feels like returning to a much loved high street: nostalgic, vibrant and forward-looking while also timeless. As a former BID Manager of a Hertfordshire market city and then the Head of Operations for a central London BID, I loved working with the whole local community to promote the value of placemaking with the businesses and local authorities. I look on my time in those BID roles as a period of energy, creativity and partnership. My seven years in place management confirmed to me a long held belief that to believe BIDs are simply ‘about’ business improvement is to miss the magic of BIDs entirely. Collaboration through BIDs fosters community pride, embeds local identity and helps amplify an authentic heartbeat of places. I’m extremely proud that many of the initiatives I helped instigate are still thriving today: it’s reassuring that the legacy of local collaboration endures despite the pandemic and other moments of significant upheaval and challenge in the sector.
As the first manager of St Albans BID, I’m proud of the collective purpose that defined those early years: the board were brim-full of ideas and energy from before the ballot results had come in, and their interest and engagement continue to this day. Funnily enough the two initiatives that I’m most proud of are both on “George Streets”, albeit over 20 miles apart! George Street Gin & Jazz (I always did love a bit of alliteration) was an instant hit in St Albans: one of our first major on-street events in 2016 saw historic shops, pubs and bars overrun with keen visitors, and many sold out of the eponymous liquor! The event is still going, celebrating the vibrancy of George Street and its local nightlife and creating that ever-crucial ripple effect across the city centre too. That sense of continuity and shared pride reappears every October when the road closes for an evening of celebration, although this year sadly had to be postponed due to Storm Amy.
In Baker Street I led on the renovation of a pocket park on George Street, securing funding for a large scale mural designed in collaboration with local residents and employees. This little corner of seating, planting and wall-illustrated sunshine still brightens up a formerly disused and unloved plot of pavement, providing much-needed greenspace for local workers and residents to enjoy during their breaks. I spotted it from the top of a double decker bus (best seat of course!) on Baker Street just last month and it still makes me smile.
Partnership, local ownership and the celebration of a unique identity of “place” are what separates the nationally-replicable from the truly local.
BIDs are such a powerful model: their ability to represent truly local voices in an increasingly homogenised, international landscape is demonstrated over and over again. Business rates are shared across the country to support major services and initiatives at a national level. BID levies are influenced by those who are prepared to engage in the vision of a local area that truly represents the needs of those that live and work in it. It’s easy to think that BIDs only work in smaller towns where local businesses have their voice heard. However, it was clear when working in a BID in the centre of London that large corporate headquarters and multinational chains were just as clear on what their staff needed in lunchbreaks (green pocket parks), and after hours too (safe and clean streets) as the smaller organisations. Having those discussions on a level playing field was key to ensuring they all felt able to get in touch with ideas and concerns too so we were able to respond at pace.
It’s not ‘new’ to acknowledge the pressures on high streets and town centres — from online retail to rising costs and changing consumer behaviour. It is harder than ever to have a clear local voice, and still harder to have a voice loud enough to be heard over the other calls on our attention.
BIDs are a democratic, local counterbalance to these trends, allowing local businesses and stakeholders to define what success looks like for their place. Footfall is possible through events and calls to wider communities: long-standing city events that help make St Albans tick are still running in part thanks to the continued support of the BID, despite increasingly challenging public sector finances.
Collaboration and innovation are the highlight of successful and healthy place management in these times, from seaside towns transforming their waterfronts to industrial quarters reinventing their culture scene. Market towns working to revitalise a former bank into a community centre or coordinated initiatives to address safety and rough sleeping in city centres.
The best BIDs listen first — they are built from the ground up, with trust and shared purpose – and they will be central to the thriving communities of the future. Our biggest societal challenges are climate change, community cohesion and economic resilience: going forward the best BIDs will continue to embed their relationships to make sure that strong, inclusive town centres are part of the solution. Local solutions promoting active travel, circular and local economies and food systems, safe and welcoming communities – these are all about connection, communication and place.
As a judge, in this first year of the National BID Awards, I’m looking forward to seeing how the BID movement continues to grow and evolve. I’m proud of the maturing of the sector over the past decade and I can’t wait to see the range and variety of projects that are submitted, and the people who are continuing to work so hard to make places better, together.
I’m looking forward to celebrating how far the BID movement has come, and how the spirit of collaboration continues to evolve.
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Helen Burridge
Hertfordshire Climate Change & Sustainability Partnership
East Herts District Council
