Welcome to the City Speak newsletter Welcome to 2013’s first edition of City Speak, which is packed full of information - from a

round up of this year’s fantastic Christmas events, through to an update on the work on the

new Debenhams store.

Before Christmas over 60 traders gave their views on how they would like to spend £50,000

High Street Innovation Fund money. On pages 4 & 5 of this issue we detail how traders voted

and also how the Lichfield Town Team is taking the ideas forward. A popular idea was a town

centre manager. A possible way to secure this, and ongoing promotional budget for the city

centre is through a Business Improvement District (BID). This is detailed on page 7, along with

an invitation to all traders to come along to a BID workshop in March to find out more.

On page 6 Lichfield City Council and the Chamber of Trade & Commerce ask for your views on

changing the format of the Lichfield City Christmas Lights Switch-On. On the same page Three

Spires Shopping Centre reports an overall 4% increase in footfall in the centre in 2012 when

compared to 2011, and an increase of 5.5% over the festive period. There’s also some great

opportunities for local companies to win business on pages 6 & 8. We hope you enjoy reading

this edition of City Speak, and happy New Year to you all.

Richard Lewis,

President, Lichfield Chamber of Trade & Commerce on behalf of city centre partners.

In this edition 2 Heart of England in Bloom

2 Friary Outer update

3 Friarsgate update

3 Christmas Festival update

3 Visit Lichfield 2013 guide

4 & 5 Results from City Centre

drop in event and next steps

6 Business charity initiative

6 Can you provide business

support?

6 Debenhams update

6 Cut your energy bills support

7 2013 Xmas lights plans

7 What is a BID?

8 What’s On

8 Lichfield in the Times

8 Next city traders meeting

8 Great PR & marketing op

Christmas shopping trail boosts

city stores Update from independent retailers,

The Best of Lichfield and the Lichfield Town Team

In the run up to Christmas, hundreds of local shoppers took part in a

shopping trail to be in with a chance to win £1,050 cash and vouchers

for local high street stores. Launched by local independent shops,

The Best of Lichfield and the Lichfield Town Team, shoppers who

took part in the trail visited 20 shops across the city and beyond to get a shopping passport stamped.

The draw took place in January and the lucky winner was Linda Webb from Lichfield. She said:

“I have lived in Lichfield all my adult life and doing the trail I came across shops I had never been in or

even knew existed! I visited 'Room to Inspire' on Sandford Street and was really impressed with the

service and found a lovely Christmas gift! I will certainly be going back to all the wonderful shops I

have now discovered in the city.”

Anna Riley from Cure - a boutique ladies' clothing store, who helped to launch the trail

commented: "Twenty independent businesses took part, and we’re all really pleased it went so well.

When you consider that over 50 shoppers completed the trail in full, visiting all the businesses to get

their card stamped, that’s at least a thousand visits as a result. We know from retailers that many

people who took part bought something on their first visit or came back another day.”

Louie Clegg from The Best of Lichfield commented: "I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who

took part in the trail, to Design Pit and Lichfield Gazette for helping to produce and distribute the trail

leaflets, and to all the traders who donated cash and vouchers. In the current financial climate,

initiatives like this are just what we need.”

Councillor Louise Flowith, Cabinet Member for Tourism at Lichfield District Council, said: "We were

really pleased to support and help promote the Christmas Shopping Trail and I’m glad it’s been so

successful. We’re looking forward to supporting other initiatives like this through the Lichfield Town

Team this year to help boost Lichfield City centre.” Find out more about the Town Team on page 7.

Dashing Xmas! Update from Lichfield

District Council

In the run up to Christmas,

25 lucky drivers, who paid

for their parking through

Dash, were refunded their

parking fee as part of a

festive promotion.

Dash allows shoppers to

pay for parking on their

mobile phone or smart

phone. Registering with

Dash takes a couple of

minutes, and once

registered, you can pay for

parking and top-up whilst

out and about. Dash users

tell us it’s great because

you don’t have to go back

to your car to top up your

parking.

We’ve developed a leaflet

to help promote Dash. If

you would like a stock for

your store email

elizabeth.thatcher@

lichfielddc.gov.uk

Issue 5 February 2013

Friary Outer update - a look behind the

hoardings

Update by Lichfield District Council

2

Bloomin’ Lichfield Update from Bloomin’ Lichfield

The inaugural meeting of Bloomin’ Lichfield took place this

January. Bloomin’ Lichfield is a group of enthusiastic councillors,

officers, traders and more from across the city, who are

committed to driving forwards this year’s entry into the Heart of

England in Bloom competition.

Lichfield City entered the competition last year for the first time

on a shoestring budget, and we were over the moon to be

awarded a coveted Silver Gilt award.

Richard Lewis, from the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, who

led last year’s entry, together with Lichfield city and district

councils and partners, commented: “We know from cities up

and down the country that they spend tens of thousands of

pounds to achieve similar results, which just goes to show what

real partnership working can do, when you set your mind to it.”

When you consider how attractive the city

looked last year, with bunting and red, white and

blue hanging baskets, it goes without saying that

making the city centre beautiful can have a

positive impact on footfall.

At the first meeting lots of ideas were discussed, including a

wheelbarrow parade, a theme for this year’s floral displays,

such as ‘vintage’ or ‘memories’. The group also identified the

partners they need to work with, such as local allotments,

recycling teams, traders, parks teams and more. The team is

also going to ask if judging can take place on 4 July 2013, to

coincide with Lichfield’s Farmers’ Market, and we’ll be asking

traders to join in and decorate their stalls for judging day.

The date of the next meeting is 6 February 2013.

If you are interested in

joining the group, or in

sponsoring this year’s

entry, please email

Richard Lewis at

lewis_rm@yahoo.co.uk

Work on the Friary Outer development site is progressing well,

despite the recent bad weather. When complete the £14

million development will boast 60 homes, a Premier Inn hotel

and restaurant, public toilets, electric car charging points, and a

multi-layer car park with around 400 spaces.

Last November over 200 local people got to take a look behind

the hoardings as part of an Open Doors event. Since then, a lot

of work has taken place. Here’s a quick update:

� The car park steelwork is now complete.

� The last of the concrete planks will be installed by

mid/late-January.

� Works to the retirement apartments are

progressing well and the roof is nearly done.

� Windows have been fitted and the masonry works are

nearly complete.

� Works on the apartments are also progressing well.

Coming up, the works to the car park, including CCTV and

lighting fittings lift and barrier installation will also take place.

Works on the roofing will also be finished soon. This will mean

the scaffolding on The Friary can be removed, which will give a

great view of the development’s façade for the first time.

Landscaping works will also take place in Festival Gardens,

including new planting and the creation of a new footpath.

Work on the Premier Inn hotel is expected to start this spring.

To keep up to date on the works visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

friaryouter

View from the top deck of the new car park

Congratulations to the Loafers team Congratulations to the Loafers team for relocating their store

from The Corn Exchange to Bore Street. The new store offers

customers a lot more space to wait for their delicious lunches,

which means the famous queues out the door may become a

thing of the past, or indeed may get longer! Loafers was born

and bred in Lichfield and is a real success story. We wish the

Loafers team the best of luck in their new home. To order your

corporate lunches from loafers call 01543 417678 or to order

your lunch online visit www.loaferslunches.com

Promote & network for free Update from Visit Lichfield

Does your business offer something for visitors to our city and

district? If it does, why not book a free table at this year's Swap

Shop at Drayton Manor? Swap Shop attracts a wide variety of

tourism businesses from across the Heart of England region. It is

an ideal and cost effective way for you to network with a

number of businesses under the same roof, as well as share

literature with other venues across the region. Swap Shop takes

place on Friday 15 March, 10am – 1pm, Drayton Manor Theme

Park. To find out more email rachael.evans@lichfielddc.gov.uk

or call 01543 308216.

Cllr Mrs Janet Eagland

accepts the Silver Gilt award

Friarsgate Update Update from Lichfield District Council

Following requests from local traders, we've put together a quick update on

the planned Friarsgate retail and leisure complex.

For the past few years we have been working with the development

company S Harrison, and their joint venture partner Development Securities,

to bring a new retail and leisure complex to the city, on the site of the

current bus station, multi-storey car park and police station. The vision is to

revitalise the Birmingham Road area of the city in a way that will link with

and complement the rest of the centre.

The planned £100 million scheme includes an anchor store, a cinema,

around 25 mixed sized retail and catering units, new public spaces and a car

park. It also includes some apartments.

Whilst trading conditions are tough nationally, there is still continuing

interest in the Friarsgate scheme from the retail and leisure sectors, which is

really positive news for the city. That said, due to the current economic

conditions, there is no scheduled start date for the development. The

council recently agreed to give S Harrison more time to rethink the design

and, in particular, to secure an anchor store, which is vital if the scheme is to

proceed. Despite the challenges ahead the developer remains committed to

the delivery of the scheme. To keep up to date please visit

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/friarsgate

Christmas

Festival Update from Visit

Lichfield

Every year Visit Lichfield, the district council's

tourism team, works with local organisations

including the Chamber of Trade & Commerce,

Lichfield City Council, local shops, market traders,

attractions and businesses, and even a local scout

group, to host a Christmas Festival weekend. The

aim of the weekend is to encourage visitors into

the city, as well to give shoppers a festive

welcome.

This year's festival took place on Saturday 15 and

Sunday 16 December. On Saturday the Market

Square hosted an entertainment tent, face

painting, craft activities and more. On Sunday, the

Chamber of Trade & Commerce Christmas Market

and local and farmers’ market traders took to the

streets, and welcomed hundreds of shoppers keen

to pick up a Christmas treat. Thanks to all the

market traders who relocated to make the

weekend possible and to all the traders who

opened specially for Sunday.

In the run up, the event was featured in the

Tamworth Herald, the Sutton Observer and the

Lichfield Mercury. It also featured in the Lichfield

Gazette, our What’s On brochure, Destination

Staffordshire’s Groups’ Newsletter and in

Staffordshire Living. Touch FM also promoted the

event. E-shots were sent to over 3,500 subscribers

and it was tweeted and posted on facebook.

Hundreds of shoppers visited the Market Square

over the weekend and six coaches, bringing over

300 passengers booked in to attend the event.

Overflow coach parking was provided.

Over 50 families took part in the Christmas market

trail and over 100 children had their faces painted.

Lichfield 1st Scouts, Walsall Operatic Society,

Cannock Salvation Army Band and other local

musicians and dancers entertained the crowds, and

the Lichfield Mysteries performed The Nativity to a

large crowd on Sunday. Over 300 people enjoyed

carols and birthday cake at Erasmus Darwin House

and over 250 people visited the Guildhall cells.

Many more enjoyed a traditional Christmas, carol

singing and flower arranging at The Samuel

Johnson Birthplace Museum. Local feedback has

been positive, and we'll be carrying out a quick

survey later this spring with shops and businesses

about how we can improve next year’s event.

The next event we’re starting to plan is 2013's

Heritage Weekend. If you want to get involved,

please email emily.robinson@lichfielddc.gov.uk or

call 01543 308215. 3

Visit Lichfield 2013 guide out now An update from Visit Lichfield - Lichfield District

Council’s tourism team

The new Visitor Guide for 2013 is out now. Produced

by Lichfield District Council’s tourism team, with the

support of organisations across the city and district,

including hotels, restaurants, attractions and more, the

visitor guide features over 60 glossy pages. The aim of

the guide is to encourage visitors to the city for a

day-trip or an overnight stay. It features sections on

shops, events, accommodation and more.

60,000 copies of the guide are printed each year and distributed to venues

across the district, county and region. Copies are also sent to tourist

information centres up and down the country. To read this year’s visitor

guide online visit www.visitlichfield.co.uk/download

To find out more about how to get involved in next year’s visitor guide, call

Jonathan Oates in the Visit Lichfield team on 01543 308216 or email

jonathan.oates@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Groups’ Guide The team is working on this year’s Groups’ Guide, which is

sent to over 2,000 group tour operators. The aim is to encourage coach

parties to visit the city. We know traders notice the benefits of groups

visiting the city and tell us that they boost sales. If you want to find out more

about the Groups Guide, call Jonathan Oates in the Visit Lichfield team on

01543 308216 or email jonathan.oates@lichfielddc.gov.uk

What’s On The spring & summer edition of What’s On, featuring events up

to August is due out in February. 50,000 copies of each edition are printed.

The aim of What’s On is to encourage local people and visitors into the city

and district to enjoy the wide range of events on offer. To find out more

about how to get involved call Emily Robinson in the visit Lichfield Team on

01543 308215 or email emily.robinson@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Results from the city centre drop in event Update from Lichfield Town Team Over 40 traders came along to a drop in event in December to give their views on where we should spend £50,000 High Street

Innovation Funding to boost the city.

4

Based on the top 14 ideas generated at the open meeting in

November, traders were again asked to rank the ideas from

1 - 15, with 1 being their least favourite and 15 being their

favourite idea. Voting took place at a drop in event in

December. Over 40 traders came along on the day and

another 20 voted online. The next two pages explain how we

will take the ideas forwards, as well as how to get involved.

1. A retail brand for the city Traders voted again for a retail brand for the city that

appeals to shoppers, restaurant and bar goers, not just to

tourists. Here’s how we are going to take this forward:

� We’ve set up a Branding Task Force from members of

the Lichfield Town Team.

� Invite locally based design agencies to pitch ideas.

� The pitches will include a visual of the brands they

might develop.

� The Branding Task Force will pick a top three ideas.

� These will be presented to the next Traders’ Meeting

in March (see back page) and traders will vote on

their favourite brand.

If you are a city business and are particularly interested in

the branding and marketing of the city centre retail offer and

want to get involved in the Branding Task Force please call

Lizzie Thatcher on 01543 308781 or email

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk Please note anyone

on the task force will not be able to pitch for the work.

Rough costs estimates: £1,500 - £2,000 max

The graph above shows the combined rankings after all the

traders votes were brought together - with ‘develop a

retail brand for the city’ being the most popular, and ‘more and

better communications’ being the least popular.

2. More city events Traders voted again for more events in the city centre, that work

to boost footfall and trade in local shops and restaurants. To do

this, we are going to make a pot of £6,000 available for new

events and will invite organisations to bid for a share of the

money.

As part of the application process we will be asking organisations

to show how their event will boost footfall, how it will help to

convert footfall into trade, how it will add to the established yearly

events calendar, how it will work with partners, and how they will

aim to make the event sustainable in the future - even

without further funding.

We have a well established application process we can adapt and

lots of expertise in the council to help run this kind of selection

process, which the council will deliver free of charge. We’ll also

invite traders to form part of the assessment panel. We’ll present

the process to traders at the next Traders’ Meeting in March.

Rough cost estimate: £6,000

If you are a city business and would like to be involved in the

assessment panel, please call Lizzie Thatcher on 01543 308781 or

email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk Please note that

0100200300400500600

Develop a retail brand for the city

More seasonal events in the city

More city promotion and advertising

Develop a city (shop, eat, drink) website

Appoint a town centre manager (max 12 months)

A mobile phone app for the city

More Covent Garden style entertainment

More social media for the city

More business and networking

Appoint street champions

More parking offers in the city

A loyalty card scheme / shopping passport

A city map for visitors and shoppers

More and better communications

3. More advertising and promotion We’re going to set aside a £6,000 budget to fund a programme of advertising and

promotion in 2013. This could see Lichfield being advertised on trains, buses and

more. Because the adverts will need to be branded with the new city retail brand,

we won’t make any decisions on where we are going to spend the money until

the brand is approved. We’ll bring a range of options to the next Traders’

Meeting in March (see back page). If you are a city business and have any ideas

on the kind of marketing you think we should be doing, please call Lizzie Thatcher

on 01543 308781 or email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Budget set aside: £6,000

4 & 6. A website and mobile app for the city We already have a website (www.visitlichfield.co.uk) and mobile phone app

(www.visitlichfield.mobi) for the city that lists over 70 city shops, 18 coffee shops,

and over 30 pubs, bars and restaurants, and offers all of these free basic listings.

The sites are also maintained by the Visit Lichfield team. Rather than starting

again from scratch, we plan to create sister sites, branded with the new brand.

This will help to keep the costs down and ensure the content is looked after.

Rough costs estimate: £3,000 Website: design (£800), plus development cost (£1,500 max).

Mobile website: design (£200), plus development cost (£500 max).

5. Appoint a town centre manager This is not an easy one, especially with only £50,000 in the kitty and lots of other

projects to deliver! That said, we have worked out a possible way forward (see

page 7). The article explains why a town centre manager might not deliver as

much as we hope within the context of the High Street Innovation Fund, and also

maps out a way we could secure funding for a permanent town centre manager

and other city projects through a Business Improvement District (BID). The article

also invites you to attend a BID Workshop, which the Lichfield Town Team have

agreed to spend £1,000 on hosting.

Budget set aside: £1,000

7. A summer of Covent Garden entertainment Traders voted again for more Covent Garden style entertainment in the city

centre, that will boost footfall and trade during summer weekends. To do this, we

are going to make a pot of £5,000 available for entertainers. We will first ask local

arts organisations to pitch for the funding. The Town Team will create a

diary of entertainment days, and agree the venues where the entertainers will

need to perform, and a maximum budget per day. Local arts organisations will

then be asked to pitch to deliver the entertainment. The pitches will be assessed

by Lichfield Town Team, which includes lots of traders. If we don’t get enough

pitches, we’ll get competitive quotes from street entertainment companies.

Rough cost estimate: £5,000

If you are a city business and would like to be involved in the selection of the

entertainers, please call Lizzie Thatcher on 01543 308781 or email

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk. Please note that anyone on the selection

panel will not be able to pitch for the work.

8. More social media - costs: £Free With a new website, hooked up to twitter and Facebook, more social media will

be simple to deliver. In the short-term, this will be delivered by the Visit Lichfield

team on behalf of the Town Team. Long-term this may become the role of the

Town Centre/BID Manager (if appointed) or we may look to recruit a volunteer

social media champion from within the Town Team.

5

Our spend-o-meter! See what we’ve agreed to

spend so far, based on your

votes:

Spent so far:

£1417.60 - Xmas lights,

shopping crawl and &

traders’ events

Planned spend:

£2,000 - branding

£6,000 - events

£6,000 - promotion

£3,000 - Mobile app

£1,000 - BID workshop

£5,000 - Entertainers

£24,417.60 - planned spend so far

£25,582.40 - left for other ideas

We secured an extra £10,000

when we became a Town Team.

We’ll use this money to deliver:

12. Loyalty card scheme We’re going to jointly brand the Visit Lichfield

special offers card scheme, as well as create

window stickers for local shops to promote

the mobile app and loyalty card.

14. A map for city visitors

and shoppers We’re going to create a map for city visitors

and shoppers that sections the city into areas

and promotes the types of shops in those

areas. We’ll wait until the new branding is

ready before taking this forward. For more

information on these projects, please call

Lizzie Thatcher on 01543 308781

Networking, street champions,

better communications and

parking offers Lichfield Town Team will be looking at these

in more detail in early 2013, and will bring

some ideas along to the next Traders’

Meeting in March (see back page).

Some of them could be delivered for no extra

budget. For more details call Lizzie Thatcher

on 01543 308781 or email

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Debenhams &

Three Spires

update Update from Debenhams

and Three Spires

Shopping Centre Work on the new

Debenhams store in the former TJ Hughes unit is progressing

well. Signage has started to go up (pictured), which is bringing a

real buzz and sense of excitement to the centre.

No firm date has been set for the opening yet, but the team is

pleased with the progress so far, and is looking forward to

opening the doors to the new store soon. Watch this space, or

keep up to date at www.debenhams.com/new-stores

Elsewhere in the Three Spires centre, Vision Express and

Romans have moved to new units (congratulations to them!),

whilst we bid farewell to Jessops, following the parent

company’s recent closure. Retailer interest in the centre’s

vacant units remains high and the centre’s landlords are

working hard to encourage well-known high street names into

the centre. The imminent arrival of Debenhams has boosted

the attractiveness of the centre and the city, and the team is

positive it will continue to do so.

Recent footfall figures in the centre are also positive, with

figures from this Christmas period beating last year’s figures by

5.5%, and overall 2012’s figures were up by 4% on 2011’s.

For more information visit www.threespireslichfield.com

6

Businesses and good causes come

together

Update from Lichfield Business & Charity Network

A new Lichfield-based networking group held its first meeting

on 31 January.

Lichfield Business & Charity Network, established by local PR

consultant Lucas Coe, aims to give organisations the

opportunity to share expertise and build strong working

relationships with good causes in the community.

Speaking of the group, founder Lucas Coe said: “There’s so

much businesses and charities can learn from each other, and

we’re hoping the Lichfield Business & Charity Network will be

the perfect place to do that.

“For example, charities might be able to pick up vital cost

saving strategies from some of the city’s leading businesses,

while businesses may be able to enhance their own reputations

by forging long-term charitable partnerships.

“The possibilities really are endless, and an active network

where businesses and charities work together is fantastic news

for Lichfield.”

If you want to attend future meetings or find out more about

the network, please email hello@lucascoe.com

Can you provide business support? Update from Lichfield District Council

Lichfield District Council is looking for an organisation to deliver

support services to businesses across the district between 1

April 2013 & 30 June 2014. The organisation we select will help

to deliver business growth and development, employment

growth, workforce development, improve access to finance, and

improve general business skills through a range of initiatives.

If you are an organisation with a track record of providing

excellent support services to businesses and helping to deliver

business growth, we want to hear from you!

How to get involved

To help us select a company to work with, we are asking

companies to submit a tender application by 28 February 2013.

To find out more visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/businesstender

Cut your business energy bills

Update from Lichfield District Council

We're working with Marches Energy Agency to offer help and

support to local businesses so they can cut the amount of fuel

they use, reduce their bills and boost their profits. If you are a

small or medium sized business, as part of the new scheme, you

can access a range of services for free including:

� An energy awareness telephone support line.

� A bespoke report on how your business can make

savings, and how much you could save.

� A great offer on LED lights.

� Five local businesses will also be chosen for a visit from

an energy expert who will carry out a free energy audit.

So, if you would like to start saving on your business energy

bills this winter, call the support line on 0800 677 1543.

2013’s Christmas Lights

Switch-On Update from Lichfield City Council

Last year’s Christmas decorations and

lights may only just have come down,

but Lichfield City Council and the Chamber of Trade and

Commerce are already planning 2013’s event, and they are

thinking of making some changes to the format.

Peter Young, Town Clerk at the City Council, explains: “The

Christmas Lights Switch-On attracts hundreds of people, but

traders have told us that because it is held on a school-night,

after normal opening hours, it doesn’t boost their business as

much as they would like. This is why we want to trial moving the

event to Sunday 24 November at 5pm this year. We’ll host a day

of festive events and entertainment on the Market Square

during the day, and encourage shops to open their doors. We’ll

make sure we promote the changed date widely, with leaflets in

school bags, adverts and information in What’s On.”

We are keen to give traders a chance to have a say on our

plans, so please email your thoughts to us at

enquiries@lichfield.gov.uk

What is a BID? Update from Lichfield Town Team

The fifth top idea voted for by traders at the recent High Street

Innovation drop in event (see pages 4 & 5) is a town centre

manager.

The problem with appointing a town centre manager with the

High Street Innovation funding is that we could probably only

afford to appoint a person for 6 - 12 months, and when the

money is gone it's gone, and so the post would go too.

The benefit a short-term town centre manager could deliver to

the city is limited. Realistically, the post holder could spend a

few months getting up to speed, a few more doing projects,

and the last few months winding down.

One way of giving the job real focus, and

potentially securing ongoing funding to

support a town centre manager and other

city centre projects, is to appoint someone

for a set time period to see if a BID could

be developed for the city.

What is a BID?

BID stands for Business Improvement District. In simple terms a

BID is a business-led and business funded organisation that

works to improve a defined commercial area, such as Lichfield

City centre. The BID is voted for and set up by local traders.

Where does the money come from?

All businesses within a certain area (such as the city centre) pay

a little bit more (known as a levy) on their business rates. The

usual levy is 1% - so if you pay £12,000 in rates each year, that’s

an extra £120. The extra money businesses pay is looked after

by the local council. It is then spent by the BID board (formed of

business representatives) in line with an agreed business plan

(written and agreed by local businesses). The council doesn't

keep any of the extra money - it just looks after it like a bank.

Does the council pay anything towards the BID?

That depends. If you include car parks in the BID boundary,

then the council will pay a levy on its rates as well.

What kind of things can BIDs pay for?

It's entirely up to the businesses involved in writing the

business plan, but other BIDs have paid for projects such as

business support and training, improved infrastructure,

branding, promotion, events or even projects like shop front

improvement, CCTV and signage.

How long do BIDs last for?

BIDs can be set up for a maximum of five years, but can be less.

How are BIDs set up?

The first thing you have to do is agree the BID boundary. Then

you have to speak to all the businesses within the boundary to

explain what a BID is all about and encourage them to support

it. You can choose to exclude certain businesses, such as the

smallest/newest businesses and charities from the BID.

7

What then?

After a period of consultation, businesses within the BID

boundary are asked to vote on whether or not they want to pay

into a BID. All eligible businesses within the BID boundary area

are asked to vote.

For a BID to be successful, at least 50% of the businesses within

the boundary, and 50% of the total rateable value of the area,

has to vote yes. This makes sure both large and small

businesses have a say. This is great, but it also means BIDs can

be challenging to get off the ground, as you have to persuade a

lot of people to want to pay an extra 1% on their rates!

After the vote

If the BID vote is a success, the BID business plan becomes a

legally binding document and sets out how the BID will operate.

An operating agreement is entered into between the BID board

and the local council that governs how the BID money is paid

out. The BID board then delivers on the business plan, usually

through a BID Manager or town centre manager, over the

agreed timeframe.

How could it help your business?

These are not exhaustive, but some of the benefits reported by

businesses in BID areas include:

"We get to decide what we want and can pay for it."

"We have a really powerful voice locally and can do something

about issues we just moaned about in the past."

"Our BID money is ring fenced and we are completely in control

of how it's spent."

Most BIDs lead to proven increased footfall.

"We've all cut our costs - our staff turnover has gone down,

crime has gone down, and we've also started joining with other

businesses to buy common services."

"We work better together as businesses and with local partners

such as the police and council."

You are invited to a BID workshop Setting up a BID is no small task, and deciding whether or not

we want to invest a large proportion of the High Street

Innovation Funding in a BID Manager to try and set one up in

the city centre, is an important decision.

To help you to understand more about BIDs and whether or not

there is enough support in the city to invest some of the High

Street Innovation Funding in a Bid Manager’s post, the Lichfield

Town Team will be holding a BID workshop for all city traders.

The BID workshop will be led by someone who has set up a BID

in the past and we’ll also invite along businesses from other BID

areas, so you can get to hear about it from a traders’

perspective. The Town Team has agreed to spend up to a

maximum of £1,000 of the High Street Innovation Funding on

the workshop, but we’ll try to keep the costs as low as possible.

We’ve not set a date for the workshop yet, but we hope to hold

it in late March, after trading hours. We’ll send an invitation to

every business in the city. If you want to send us your thoughts

in advance, please email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

or call Lizzie on 01543 308781.

February events

12 Shrove Tuesday, Shrovetide Fair Market Square, City

Council Pancake Race, 11.45am, Bore Street.

14 Valentines Day.

19 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting.

7.30pm , George Hotel. Call 07890 805563 for details.

22 Lichfield Rugby Club Networking Meeting at 7.30am

Guest speaker Police Commissioner Matthew Ellis

Call 01543 414451 for more details.

March events

10 Mothers’ Day.

17 St Patrick’s Day.

19 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting

7.30pm, George Hotel.

22 Lichfield Rugby Club Networking meeting at 7.30am.

29 Easter school holidays (until 12 April).

31 Easter Sunday.

31 British summer time begins (clocks forward 1 hour).

April events

1 Easter Monday bank holiday.

16 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting, 7.30pm.

Venue tbc. Call 07890 805563 for details.

23 St George's Court, celebrations on the Market Square.

25 LDTA AGM, The George Hotel. Call 01543 308210.

6 May Day bank holiday.

May events

21 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting, 7.30pm.

Venue tbc. Call 07890 805563 for details.

25 -27 Lichfield Greenhill Bower celebrations.

You are invited to the next city centre

Traders’ Meeting Update from the Lichfield Town Team

Following on from last year’s really successful open meeting in

October, we’re holding another Traders’ Meeting this March.

Come along to find out how the Lichfield Town Team is getting on

delivering the projects voted for by traders, have your say on new

city centre branding, and give your views on other emerging High

Street Innovation Fund projects (detailed on paged 4 & 5). The

meeting will take place on:

Wednesday 27 March 2013

5.45pm - 7.30pm

Lichfield Garrick Studio

Food & drink Because there was oodles of food left over after the

last meeting, we’re just going to put on a simple spread of

cheese, biscuits, bread and chutneys. We’ll also offer teas,

coffees and soft drinks. The Garrick bar will also be open.

Please confirm your place If you want to come along, please

email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call Lizzie on

01543 308781. Please put the date in your diary and we’ll send

out a reminder invitation nearer to the date. We really hope to

see you there!

The editorial team Partners and organisations

across the city provide articles for City Speak. These are brought

together and published by the communications team at Lichfield

District Council. If you would like to add anything into future

issues of City Speak, email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Distribution City Speak is distributed free to businesses

across Lichfield City. If you are not on the mailing list and would

like to be added, email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

When is it distributed We aim to issue six editions of

City Speak a year, and if it’s well received, we may issue more. In

between these times we’ll update www.cityspeak.info

Feedback We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading City Speak

and that it’s been useful to you. If you have any feedback on City

Speak, or want us to include particular topics in future editions,

please email the editorial team at

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

8

City Speak is brought to you in partnership by Lichfield District Council, the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, the TownSafe

Partnership, Lichfield City Council and other city partners.

Lichfield City centre in The Times Update from Lichfield District Council

Lichfield City featured in the first of a series of articles on

Britain’s smallest cities. The piece, written by journalist Carol

Lewis was titled ‘A little place with a big plan’ … Historical

Lichfield is readying itself for a £100 million revival. The piece

mentions the Friary Outer development and planned

Friarsgate scheme. It also mentions the city’s weekly markets,

the arrival of Debenhams and local historical figures including

Garrick, Darwin, Seward and more.

The article states research that shows when the new

Friarsgate development is delivered, it will push Lichfield up

the town centre retail rankings from 184th to 76th, putting it

above places like Banbury, Winchester, Worcester and

Woking. To read the article, visit www.thetimes.co.uk or call

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Calling all PR & marketing agencies Update from Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP

We are looking for a marketing and PR firm who can help us to

promote a range of business support services to local businesses.

If you are a forward thinking, dynamic and creative organisation,

who can help us reach hundreds of SMEs across the Greater

Birmingham and Solihull region, we want to hear from you. The

deadline for tenders is 6 February 2013 at 4pm. Find out more at

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/marketingandprtender