Hull BID

Hull BID was established in 2006 following a vote by businesses within the Hull city centre area bounded by Freetown Way, the River Hull, the River Humber and Ferensway, including the St Stephen's Shopping Centre. By voting in favour of Hull BID, businesses recognised that existing statutory bodies could only afford to do so much to enhance the city centre. By committing to paying more money, they were trusting Hull BID to drive specific improvements over and above those delivered by Hull City Council and Humberside Police. And as a not-for-profit company, with a team of only four employees, Hull BID is committed to delivering the maximum value for money when it comes to investing the contributions of the member businesses. Hull BID is first and foremost an organisation for business. It has office space within the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce premises on Beverley Road. It can count among its board members some of the city centre's most influential businesses, and they sit alongside members from some of the smallest concerns. In all, Hull BID looks after the interests of around 1,300 businesses. The retail trade is well represented as is the leisure and catering sector. But BID also embraces professionals working in finance, the law, insurance, IT, recruitment, property and more. Hull BID has all business sectors in mind when distributing funds across the five key areas identified by its members as priorities for the city centre. These are: Safety & Security, Cleaning & Maintenance, Marketing & Events, Evening Economy and Access & Signage. Collectively, Hull BID's efforts are making the city centre a safer, more pleasant and more rewarding place in which to live, shop, and work. BID is delivering benefits to employers and their staff in businesses of all sizes and in all sectors and, crucially, it is giving business a voice. What is a BID? A Business Improvement District (BID) is a defined geographical area - usually a city centre - where partners pull together to create a better place in which to live, work and visit. BIDs are not run by the local authority nor are they exclusively in the hands of businesses. They are designed to bring together people from business and from the providers of public services in partnership to identify and deliver the action that is needed to improve their area. They do not replace local councils, Police Authorities or other public bodies; but do work with those organisations and provide additional services, using the resources contributed by Hull BID member businesses. BIDs can only be set up by a ballot of businesses in the relevant geographical area. For a BID to be approved there must be a majority in favour of the BID in the number of those voting. Additionally, there must be a majority in favour of the BID in the proportion of rateable value of those voting. A successful vote gives a BID a lifespan of up to five years. Funding throughout that period is raised by a mandatory levy contribution from the businesses equivalent to one per cent of their rateable value. These businesses are referred to as hereditaments. For ease of administration the funding is collected by the local authority along with other statutory payments. It is then passed straight to the BID. The local authority does not have any influence over how the money is spent, other than through its status as a BID member business. BIDs are not-for-profit organisations and they respond to the priorities indentified by the businesses within that aea. Funding is apportioned by a BID Manager with accountability to a Board comprising of partners and area stakeholders including the Police and Local Authority. Some of their resources are used to fund the work of a small management team. The rest are used to deliver projects that meet the priorities of the businesses that make the financial contributions. The sort of improvements that a BID may seek to introduce may involve safety and security, cleaning and environmental measures, improved promotion and marketing of the area and more public events. But ultimately it is for the BID businesses to decide what sort of support they want from their BID. Why do we need a BID? When Hull BID was first established in November 2006, some parts of the City Centre were looking tired, with unsightly graffiti, dilapidated empty units and there was a general perception that the city was unsafe. Businesses were seeking representation to tackle these, and many other issues within the city whilst being given a 'representative voice' to lobby on their behalf. With the implementation of a BID, private sector revenue was generated via the collection of a 1% levy on non-domestic rates. This allowed funding to be targeted at specific areas according to the priorities of the businesses. In such austere times when local authority spending is squeezed, the business community are now witnessing the difference their contributions make. The city has seen significant investment in recent years shaping major change which has created a greater confidence. A BID plays its part by working hand-in-hand with businesses and partners ensuring the profile of the city continues to build and be portrayed positively, making it a destination of choice for businesses, visitors, residents and workers.