Despite the disappointing turn out to last nights Blackburn BID consultation event, a lively and productive debate followed the presentation by Clare Turner, Development Manager at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Hopefully, a few myths and rumours were busted and businesses that did attend left feeling much more informed about what a BID actually is and what it could do for them.
The evening raised some interesting points about where the BID boundary should lie and whether there should or should not be any exemptions to the levy. As all the businesses present were local independents, there was also some concerns raised about the role of The Mall and the major high street chains in the BID. This generated some ideas about how to ensure the BID fund would benefit the businesses outside of The Mall and highlighted the opportunity for independents to be directly involved in the decision making through representation on the BID Board.
The issue of who would ultimately deliver the BID was one that seemed to be causing some reservations, but businesses were reassured that this would be a decision made by the BID Board.
Businesses made a strong case for more advertising and promotion of the independent offer outside of the Mall and even suggested that something might be done to help businesses move premises and cluster together to make the offer more attractive to customers. The relative benefits of events to attract people around the town were also discussed, though as always there were mixed feelings about the effectiveness of these in generating trade.
Although there is still much uncertainly about whether a BID is the right thing for Blackburn town centre, general feedback seemed supportive and overall, as long as the final proposals reflect the real needs of town centre businesses, it seems a 'yes' vote could be on the cards.
What was clear from the evening is that the next stage of consultation will need to identify individuals from within the town centre business community who could provide strong leadership to champion the BID and form the BID Board.
A PDF of the presentation from the event can be downloaded here.
If you missed the event and havent yet completed the BID questionnaire, you can do so on-line here.
Coming soon..........frequently asked questions and answers.
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