July 1 2014 was a landmark day in the history of Chester as city centre businesses voted ’Yes’ to bringing a BID to the city.
Following the overwhelming success of the BID campaign, the CH1ChesterBID team has spent the summer getting ready for the official September launch and working hard to start delivering the improvements you asked for.
This is just a taste of the things we have been working on in line with our business plan:
1. A free ‘one-stop-shop’ service with access for all BID members to better deals on energy, telecoms, waste and recycling and printing.
Invew has already had a number of successes in cost savings! Their biggest saving so far was an estimated £3,900 per year on energy for one local Chester business. If you’re a BID member who is not yet benefitting from the joint procurement scheme, please call the Free dedicated CH1ChesterBID Utility Helpline on 0800 156 0533 to arrange a free audit.
Come to our event on 29th September and speak to Invew yourself to see how they can help your business.
2. Dedicated marketing promotion and communication campaigns locally, nationally and internationally to increase footfall into the city.
We are already well on the way to collecting 100,000 consumers for our super database, which will allow businesses to market to a much wider audience.
We’re also working on a new CH1 city offers scheme, which will be launched at our event on 29th September.
We are working with Marketing Cheshire and partners on a Marketing Campaign for Christmas. Find out more at the drop in session on 9th September.
- To support and improve the quality, range and promotion of city centre events and festivals to encourage a greater number of visitors.
We have been busy promoting seasonal events through our social media channels, which continue to grow.
We have exciting plans to add a big new event to Chester’s events calendar next year, watch this space!
- Creating a world-class welcome to Chester including improved signage, a street concierge service and more.
We continue to work in partnership with Chester Against Business Crime to make sure we have a safe city centre for the benefit of all.
We are also working on a welcome pack for new businesses arriving into the city, which will feature all the information and relevant contacts they may need.
We know that parking is a hot topic and continue to make this a priority.
- One City, One Voice – Providing the link between businesses and key partners across the city through the work of our City Centre Manager.
Peter Lewis has been out and about working with the businesses to coordinate Christmas events and extend opening times across the city.
We have also been successful in securing new loading/unloading parking permits for businesses.
