A summer of festivals will form part of a £5m investment in Liverpool city centre.
Liverpool BID Company has unveiled its plans for investing in the city centre to help it bounce back following the coronavirus pandemic and amid the cost of living crisis.
The BID (Business Improvement District) is a designated zone in the city centre where businesses pay a levy to benefit from additional services to those provided by the city council.
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Liverpool BID has three areas in the city centre at present - Retail & Leisure which covers the city’s shopping, leisure and hospitality heart; Culture & Commerce, taking in the city’s famous waterfront and reaching up to William Brown Street and Lime Street and the Accommodation BID, the first operating in the UK, which is exclusively for the city’s hotels and serviced accommodation providers.
Seeking a fifth term of its retail and leisure BID area this spring, the new plans would see Hope Street added to the current BID area, which currently stretches from Lord Street to Bold Street, Renshaw Street, Williamson Square and the Cavern Quarter. The term would see the BID Area run until summer 2028 and would take it into its third decade.
If agreed, the budget for the retail and leisure BID will see £900k+ spent in Year 1 and Year 2, with £1m+ spent in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5.
Alongside its regular role of working with city partners on safety, security, street cleansing, networking, connectivity and more, Liverpool BID has a series of proposals for the next five years. The plans include;
Funding a summer of festivals showcasing the character of the city centre’s different neighbourhoods including Castle Street, Bold Street, Williamson Square and Hope Street
Investing in Christmas decorations and animation across the city centre
Seasonal campaigns to attract visitors to the city, from Valentine’s to Halloween
Greening the city centre and helping businesses to achieve Net Zero
Delivering on SRFs for the Cavern Quarter and Williamson Square to improve visitor experience and attract footfall
Supporting cultural organisations to bring their activity into the public realm
Bill Addy, CEO of Liverpool BID Company said: “Almost two decades ago, Liverpool became one of the first UK cities to establish a BID, Business Improvement District, and since then Liverpool city centre has transformed. What BID offers is the opportunity for businesses to have a direct impact and say in that transformation. The levy from our businesses is an investment that goes towards making Liverpool a place to thrive, for those living, working and visiting the city. It is about working with our city partners to constantly improve and enhance the public realm, make the city more attractive, safer and easier to get around.
“Without the BID, Liverpool city centre would look very different. We are the only organisation that develops and lobbies for a specific strategy designed purely for the city centre’s mixed economy. We bring together expertise from retail, leisure hospitality and culture to help better connect the city centre and be a voice for business. We often say that half of our work happens in plain sight, be it street cleansing, animation and activity in the public realm, and the other takes place behind the scenes with lobbying, pushing for the interests of our businesses and taking their concerns directly to those in charge”.
“Liverpool is a visitor destination, it is a dynamic and ambitious city. While the public purse is shrinking our businesses look to their own civic role to help ensure the value of Liverpool is always seen and always felt. This helps to keep our city vibrant and reflects Liverpool city centre’s mixed economy.”
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