Annual Review

2015/16

This is your BID

Our Focus

CH1ChesterBID is a business-led initiative that was voted for by the businesses of Chester in September 2014. The BID runs for five years and means that over the term approximately £2.5m will be generated and reinvested back into the city centre, focusing on events, promotions, marketing, city welcome and working together as one city with one voice. There are currently over 500 businesses, with a rateable value of more than £18,000, situated within the BID designated city area. Each of these members contribute a levy equal to 1% of their premises rateable value every year to fund a wide range of improvements identified by the businesses themselves and set out in our business plan.

Every item of expenditure has contributed towards achieving our goals of better promoting the city, creating a warm city welcome and ultimately working together to make things happen.

2

CH1ChesterBID will deliver integrated marketing campaigns and high quality events which will attract more visitors to increase spend, stay longer and repeat their experience in our city.

Working together with key city partners, CH1ChesterBID will invest in a wide and varied programme of maintenance and enhancements that without BID funding could otherwise not take place.

On behalf of all the BID members, CH1ChesterBID will provide one voice to be able to engage with the rest of the city and raise the issues that are important to you with key city stakeholders.

BID DELIVERY BOARDEd Oliver ChairmanEryl Edwards (VChair) PrimarkAlison Duckworth Marketing CheshireAnthony Willder Chester CathedralBob Lelliott Chester Against Business CrimeCaroline Sanger-Davies Chester ZooPaul Loughlin Cheshire Constabulary Jason Ellison Chez Jules Jonathan Slater Oddfellows HotelsJulie Webb The Grosvenor Shopping CentreKath Briscoe Boots

BID TEAMNick White City Centre ManagerEmily Ghazarian Events ManagerJulie Charlton Marketing & Communications ManagerLouise Sullivan Office ManagerTim Whistance Apprentice

It gives me great pleasure to present the 2015-2016 CH1ChesterBID Annual Review. In our second year, we have accelerated our activity and progress to continue to deliver a raft of projects and initiatives which have made a real difference and impact to our city.

Key achievements include launching experiencechester.co.uk, a dedicated consumer focused website that will allow us to promote the city and its businesses direct to the public; Head Out Not Home, a marketing and events campaign aimed at bridging the gap between the day and night-time economy and the introduction of our friendly bowler hat wearing Welcome Ambassadors to give visitors a warm welcome to Chester.

From a personal perspective it is with great pride and privilege that I have been given the opportunity to manage CH1ChesterBID, widely recognised as one of the leading Business Improvement Districts in the UK. I have been extremely fortunate to inherit a professional team that are dedicated to working with you to develop significant improvements and enhancements to ensure our city continues to thrive.

As we move into Year Three of the BID I recognise that whilst we have plenty to be proud of we also have plenty more work to do.

This is your BID. To get the most out of it, you need to be part of it. By joining in with the events and activities, and working together, you will not only get the most out of your investment, we will all be able to harness further growth and success for our city centre.

We look forward to working with you.

Kay Cook (Co. Secretary) Oliver and CoJane Makin CWaCNick Harding CruisePeter Rosenfeld Busy BusPhil Dale Marks & SpencerPhil Harris University of ChesterPhill Elliott DebenhamsRoger Gorham Bride HallRupert Collis Grosvenor EstateTim Kenney Chester Business ClubTony Kaye Kayes Jewellers

WELCOME AMBASSADORSLuka MorrellMonica Roman

3

Carl Critchlow BID MANAGER

Tracking the impactIn 2016/17 the BID’s events, campaigns and activities will continue to be evaluated through the methods adopted in the first two years. Footfall stats and other reports can be found at www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk

How we invested in Year 2 and looking ahead what we plan to spend in Year 3

4

BID Income Sept – Aug Sept – Aug Actual Budget

Income from BID levy 446,000 449,750

Grants Receivable 77,083 75,421

Income from Commercial Bookings 16,370 10,000

Income from voluntary members/sponsorships 3,405 3,000

Other Income 7,200 960

C/F balance 103,762 54,000

Total Turnover 653,820 593,131

2016/172015/16 BID Expenditure Sept – Aug Sept – Aug Actual Budget

Business Savings 13,298 12,390

Marketing /PR 126,582 141,774

City Centre Events 178,924 159,627

Chester Welcome 154,494 157,568

One City One Voice 65,152 52,772

Operating Costs 61,370 47,523

Contingency 21,477

Total Expenditure 599,820 593,131

2016/172015/16

“Working in partnership with CH1ChesterBID we have been able to deliver a range of projects which have driven footfall for the benefit of our retailers. Initiatives such as Dinosaurs Escape to the City saw some of the highest levels of Footfall recorded in the shopping centre in recent years.”JULIE WEBB | GROSVENOR SHOPPING CENTRE

BID EVENTS AND PR CAMPAIGNS

l Footfall trends (e.g. week/event time period or year-on-year analysis)

l Event attendance figures where relevant and possible to record

l Anecdotal feedback and satisfaction from BID members, partners and stakeholders

l Campaign/event specific visitor evaluation surveys

l Media value of local, regional and national press coverage

l Web analytics to campaign landing pages

l Social media interaction and reach

l Redemptions of any competitions or offers

l Retailer engagement levels

OTHER CITY CENTRE PERFORMANCE

l Monthly footfall and sales tracking

l Continued development of our Welcome Ambassadors in terms of feedback, training and visitor interactions

l Benchmarking against other BIDS

l Chester Visitor surveys carried out by survey experts LJ Research

experiencechester.co.uk the ‘go to’ website for shopping, dining, attractions and what’s on in Chester city centre was launched, giving all BID members an enhanced online listing and the ability to promote offers.

Funded a directory listing for every business on the ‘Shop in Chester’ micro website found within www.visitchester.com and the functionality to add city events. (valued £300)

Chester Fiesta, a summer marketing campaign was launched to promote Summer activities in Chester.

Launched ‘Head out Not Home’ campaign to help bridge the gap between the day and evening economy between 5 – 8pm

Regular e-newsletters and printed communications to all BID members which feature city centre news, footfall figures, events and issues affecting business.

Consumer e-blasts targeting your business promotions and offers and promoting city centre what’s on and news.

Highlights of the year

Play

Dine

Shop

2056likes

Social media promotion for your business 4059

followers

MARKETING

412Media cuttings

(coverage from outlets including ITV Granada, Daily Mirror, Daily

Express, BBC North West Tonight, The Sun, BBC Radio Merseyside,

Capital FM, Dee 106.3 Radio, The Chester Chronicle and

The Chester Standard)

£672,000Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE)

£2m+PR Value

Working together with Visit Chester and Cheshire West

and Chester Council to support destination campaigns to promote

the wider Chester events and initiatives

21.6mOpportunities to See

(OTS)

PR

Experience a day to rememberWe have delivered targeted, seasonal marketing campaigns promoting city centre events and in-store activities across all media platforms.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

l A trilogy of Deva Codex city wide mystery quests across the city as part of Chester Unlocked campaign to successfully mix history and heritage amongst our vibrant city centre businesses.

l Halloween: Over October half term, we delivered 7 days of FREE family friendly spooktacular activities including ghost tours, film screenings, craft workshops, creepy crawly roadshow, chocolate workshop and more.

l Easter Extravaganza - a three week festival packed with 30 family friendly activities taking place across the city including a city wide trail, quiz, competition, films and workshops.

Engaging 45 BID members through our...

l Teaming up with the Chester Food and Drink Festival to showcase the talents of our city centre restaurants and compete for the title of CH1ChesterBID Sous Chef of the Year judged by Masterchef’s Gregg Wallace.

l Dinosaurs were BIG in Chester this Summer as we delivered a ‘dino’-mite trek to encourage visitors to find Jurassic Facts and Fossils across the city centre businesses.

l Following a mystery shopping visit, businesses from across Chester city centre were rewarded and recognised for excellence in Customer Service with our CH1ChesterBID 2015 Customer Service Awards.

What’s going to happen in Year Threel Continued seasonal marketing

activity and events aimed at key consumers from targeted areas to encourage footfall and spend in the city.

l Building on the success of our Head Out Not Home Initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between 5-7pm during the summer, through various activities including live music and family entertainment.

l Development of Experience Chester website with focus on working with small, independent businesses and food and drink.

l We will continue to work with our PR agency on positive stories to promote our businesses, the BID’s work and raise the profile of Chester city centre.

Christmas in Chester unwrapped!Our magical Chester Kidsmas campaign was jam packed with a five-week programme of FREE family friendly activities. Visitors were enchanted by the unique Santa’s Post Office on Northgate Street and literally couldn’t believe their eyes with our ‘magic’ glasses!

Our resident Chester elf chELFie made a much welcome return joined by his female companion ELFie who proved equally popular delighting children and adults alike.

Festive film screenings, a themed light switch on parade, competitions and even a visit from the Coca Cola truck all added to the fantastic festivities. Chester Kidsmas was supported by a fully integrated marketing campaign including local & regional press, radio advertising, online and social media activity.

Ches{erKidsmas

EVENTS

Welcome to ChesterEnsuring visitors to Chester receive a world class welcome in a clean and safe environment will encourage them to stay longer and continue to return to our great city time and again.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2015/16 INCLUDE:

l Our summer planting scheme on Foregate Street saw us brighten up one of the main thoroughfares into the city.

l CH1ChesterBID helped fund the renovation of the Bars and Fountains subways. The work included a deep cleanse, painting programme and upgrading of the lighting system. In partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) the subways are now subject to an enhanced inspection and maintenance regime.

l The historic Rows are a unique feature of Chester. CH1ChesterBID undertook a programme of work to improve the quality of its environs. This included introduction of “no smoking” signs, pigeon proofing and trialling new deep cleansing techniques.

l The BID have purchased a specialist gum removal machine which, in partnership with CWaC will see a rolling programme of gum removal introduced firstly on the rows then throughout the city.

l CH1ChesterBID has instigated a joint programme of works to address the feral pigeon problem in the city. Working with CWaC and CH1 BID members pigeon proofing works commenced in August, with a more comprehensive programme planned for the forthcoming year

l Support for the Street Pastors has helped them to keep the city and its visitors safe throughout the night.

l Introduction of Christmas lights on Pepper Street to light up the new restaurant quarter

Meet Monica and Luka...One of the most successful BID achievements over the past twelve months is the introduction of our Welcome Ambassadors. Speaking seven languages between them Monica and Luka have become an irreplaceable fixture in Chester greeting both visitors and locals while building relationships with our BID businesses.

As well as providing a personal Chester welcome Monica and Luka are the BIDs eyes and ears in the city, reporting anti-social behaviour, illegal street activity and environmental issues to ensure the city is a safe, clean and attractive place for visitors.

1,734intelligence tallies

logged (eg. chuggers, commercial waste,

illegal street trading)

24,556customer

interactions

5,212courtesy business

visits

92environmental

issues reported

82cleansing issues

reported

206anti-social behaviour

issues reported

8

“Over the last 12 months, our partnership with CH1ChesterBID has gone from strength to strength and enabled us to deliver real cost savings to Chester businesses.”DAMIEN SAMSON | POWER SOLUTIONS

We are committed to ensuring visitors have the best possible experience when visiting Chester. Over the next year we will look to build on successful initiatives such as our floral displays by extending these to more parts of the city and introducing a Christmas lighting installation on a scale never seen in Chester before.

In support of our night time economy we will continue our support for the Street Pastors as well as working with city partners such as CWaC, the Police and other stakeholders to help Chester to achieve Purple Flag status, the nationally recognised benchmark for late night economies.

The BID will support a specialist cleansing programme on the Rows and wider city while tackling the appearance of empty units through window wrapping.

BUSINESS SAVINGSAmong the many benefits of being a member of CH1ChesterBID is the opportunity to save your business money. Through our group of specialist preferred partners we have committed to helping businesses drive down their costs.

l Total business savings to date are now over £180,000.

l In the last twelve months fourteen BID businesses have signed contracts with our preferred waste collector B&M to the value of £30,000, these contracts have delivered savings of over £3000.

l Since its introduction businesses have saved over £50,000 using our preferred utility broker Power Solutions.

l With a combined saving of over £100,000, 400 BID businesses have been registered on the Shop in Chester website which receives over 100,000 visits per month, this service would usually cost each business £300 per year.

l Subsidised advertising rates available within the subway and 40% savings on city centre commercial sites.

Committed to supporting you 2016/2017

2016/17 - We will continue to investigate new and innovative ways to save businesses money. Free access for all BID members to a HR/Health and Safety helpline with a value of £400 per year will be launched while a free staff perks scheme which will help businesses attract and retain staff is currently under development.

9

Communication is key – supporting businesses on the issues that matter to them while ensuring they are kept up to date with the latest city developments is a key role for CH1ChesterBID.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2015/2016 INCLUDE:

l Hosted a number of regular drop in sessions giving businesses the opportunity to meet the team and raise the issues that matter the most to them.

l Employed a modern apprentice to support the CH1ChesterBID team and engage with the public on behalf of businesses.

l Introduced a rolling programme of visits from our Welcome Ambassadors to ensure businesses are kept up to the date with BID activities while having the chance to raise any issues.

l Facilitated a host of meetings and drop in sessions with CWaC and other city stakeholders to give businesses the chance to have their say on issues such as road works and the busking code of conduct.

l Negotiated extended hours park and ride service in partnership with CWaC to support this summer’s Head Out Not Home Campaign.

l Our City Centre Manager worked closely with the Police, Council and other key stakeholders to support “Operation Breakdown”. The operation aims to address issues around begging, street drinking and anti-social behaviour. Through statements and intelligence provided by CH1ChesterBID, the initiative led to 16 arrests for illegal street activity and five persistent offenders being issued with Community Behaviour Orders.

One City One Voice

“The support provided by CH1ChesterBID helps us to keep the streets of Chester safe for both visitors and locals alike. Through the BID we are now able to engage with businesses more effectively which helps us to identify and tackle the issues that matter most to them.”PAUL LOUGHLIN | CHESHIRE POLICE

2016/2017 will see us continue to build relationships with key stakeholders around the city to ensure the views of businesses are taken into account.

We will redevelop our CH1ChesterBID.co.uk website giving us a platform for business to business communication and a regular engagement programme will mean the BID is always accessible to its members.

Introduce a BID member voluntary pack and update welcome information.

10

11

“Being a new business in Chester, I joined CH1ChesterBID as a voluntary member. I feel that the help, guidance and marketing advice they offered has been invaluable.”KATIE | WEASEL AND THE BUG

“2016 has seen Cheshire West and Chester Council and CH1 Chester BID collaborate on a number of key projects: in particular working closely to improve delivery of city centre services. Working closely together contributes to the vibrancy of our City, benefiting our businesses, residents and visitors to Chester.”COUNCILLOR SAMANTHA DIXON LEADER OF CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER COUNCIL

2016 has certainly been a very busy year for CH1ChesterBID, building on the momentum of success from our first year we have continued to invest in projects and initiatives which benefit our businesses and Chester city centre.

A number of key personnel changes has given us the opportunity to review our activities and I believe we are now perfectly positioned to continue building for the future.

Chester’s future is positive and bright. Footfall in the city centre has been steadily increasing and Chester has repeatedly been named amongst the best places to live in the country. Looking forward to 2017, never has there been a more exciting time to be a business in Chester.

Projects such as the new bus terminal and the redevelopment of Frodsham Street will improve access to the city and stimulate investment. The first stages of the long awaited Northgate Development will send the message that Chester is committed to once again becoming a leading retail destination without sacrificing everything people love about this great city.

The opening of the new Storyhouse Cultural Centre, next Spring, has the potential to change the whole dynamic of the city by bringing people into the city at traditionally quiet times.

CH1ChesterBID are committed to helping business embrace these changes and take advantage of new opportunities however this can only be done with your support. I encourage all BID business to work and engage with the BID team as together we can succeed in making Chester the destination of choice.

On behalf of myself and my fellow directors I would like to thank everybody who has supported CH1ChesterBID over the last 12 months and look forward to supporting CH1ChesterBID businesses and our great city.

Ed Oliver CHAIRMAN CH1CHESTERBID

This is your BID. Together we want to create and promote a thriving city centre and with your help we can really make things happen!

CHECKLIST

Make sure that your contact details are current and up to date so that we can keep you informed of the latest news and updates in the city centre that affect your business.

Send us your news, events and offers to promote your business to our e-database of engaged consumers.

Get involved and sign up to our high quality city centre events and marketing campaigns to help drive potential new customers through your door.

Encourage your customers to find out everything they need to know about Chester via the experiencechester.co.uk website.

Find out more about how our business saving initiatives can help save your business money.

GET IN TOUCH, CONTACT US

The CH1ChesterBID team are always on hand to speak to you about how you can get involved. For an informal chat please contact us on 01244 403680 or via email info@ch1chesterbid.co.uk

Thank you to Chester’s local businesses, for saying YES to your Business Improvement District.

CH1ChesterBID

#ExperienceChester

@CH1Chester

CH1 Chester BID Company | 9 Lower Bridge Street | Chester | CH1 1RST. 01244 403680 E. info@ch1chesterbid.co.uk www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk

Photograph by M

ark Carline