Making Lincoln City
Centre a great place
Lincoln Business Improvement Group
Business Plan 2015-20
Introduction
2
About Lincoln BIG
Great Events
4
A Great Place to Visit
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Lincoln in 2015
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The Lincoln Business Improvement Group
(Lincoln BIG) aims to put Lincoln on the map
as a retail and tourist destination and improve
the experience of the City Centre in Lincoln for
those who live, work invest and visit.
Our philosophy is simple, if the City Centre is clean, bright and
welcoming with lots of activity and events taking place then more
people will visit, and when they do visit they will stay longer.
Our work also ensures that the City Centre is a great place
in which to operate a business, and a better environment for
staff to work in.
The Lincoln BID Re-ballot
An Accessible City
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Great Shopping
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Safe & Secure
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A Great Night Out
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Clean, Bright & Welcoming
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A Great Place to do Business
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Ballot Timescale
A Dynamic Partnership
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The BID Levy
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Overview
25
This ballot will be held during October and will close on
4th November 2014, when businesses will decide whether to
continue to support Lincoln BIG for a further five years from the
summer of 2015.
BID Area Map
26
Important Key Facts
27
Income & Expenditure Projections
28
Exit Strategy
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The Board
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Our Achievements
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Contact Us
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Lincoln BIG has been in existence as a business since 2003 and has
been a Business Improvement District (BID) since 2005. During this
time, we have achieved some great things. Highlights from our last
five years include:
Ballot papers sent out to eligible voters by Thursday
25th September 2014
Appointment of proxy by 5.00pm on Friday
3rd October 2014
Close of ballot at 5.00pm on Tuesday 4th November 2014
Count after 5.00pm on Tuesday 4th November 2014.
At the same time, we continue to provide our core services to
businesses which include employing the City Centre wardens,
producing and circulating the City Talk newsletter, Lincoln in Bloom,
Christmas arrangements, dealing with security incidents, and
administering the Pub Watch scheme.
t 01522 545233 f 01522 545833
e [email protected]
During the last five years our total investment in Lincoln City Centre
has amounted to £6.5 million some £1.6 million of this has been
funded through the BID levy which is funded by a levy on business
rates of 1% of rateable values. We have generated the rest. Our
aim is to match and exceed this performance in the next five years –
providing core services and focusing on key issues and opportunities
that affect the City Centre.
None of the costs of producing this report has been
funded by the BID Levy.
Every five years, business rate payers in the City Centre are invited
to vote for the continuation of Lincoln BIG for the next five years.
All business ratepayers in the area have a vote on the proposals and
to go ahead more than 50% of those who vote have to vote ‘yes’.
Those in favour must also represent at least 50% of the rateable
value of those who vote.
Further details of the ballot, including a downloadable
voter nomination form can be found on our website
www.lincolnbig.co.uk
Lincoln Business Improvement Group
St. Swithins House
3-5 St. Swithins Square
Lincoln
LN2 1HA
www.lincolnbig.co.uk
Lincoln BIG is a business is in its own right, controlled by a board
of directors drawn from City Centre stakeholders.
Strategic Context
In 10 years, Lincoln BIG and the City Centre have come a long
way, we have weathered the recession better than many City
Centres but we could be doing better, and there are still significant
challenges and opportunities ahead.
The greatest short term opportunity is to put Lincoln firmly on the
tourist map on the back of the £20 million investment that has
been made in Lincoln Castle. Visitors to the City are universally
pleased and surprised by their visit “I didn’t realise that Lincoln was
so nice” and “there’s so much here!” are comments that we receive
in the Visitor Information Centre time after time which is great
as it means that people are enjoying their experience here, at the
same time the image that people arrive with is of Lincoln as a small
provincial town – this is what we need to change. We therefore
hope that our foresight to establish the Visit Lincoln Partnership
will really start to bear fruit over the next five years.
The growing importance of education to the City is undeniable –
there is continuing investment by the University of Lincoln,
Bishop Grosseteste University and Lincoln College as well as a new
City Centre university technical school. It is important to recognise
within the context of this competitive educational environment
the role that attractiveness of the City Centre, safety, security and
ambience all play their part in attracting students to the City.
Some major physical changes are also planned over the next
five years, with the southern part of the City Centre set to be
transformed with a new east west link road, two new railway
footbridges, further pedestrianisation and a new transport
interchange.
Lincoln is also growing as a retail destination and our brand offer
is set to receive a boost with new names such as H&M and Joules
opening in the City as well as the decision by Next to reopen in
the City Centre. We need to capitalise on this but at the same time
make sure that we are emphasising Lincoln’s superb independent
retail offer.
During the last 10 years we have invested more than £12 million
on improving the City Centre. This doesn’t mean that the City
Centre is perfect – we still have challenges, not least access and
parking in a historic city such as Lincoln. Lincoln is however a better
place – we have been able to adapt more quickly to the changes
and opportunities that have come our way and we have continued
to work in partnership to create a great City Centre.
We want to continue to invest and to keep Lincoln moving
forward but we can only do this with the continued support
of City Centre businesses.
Designed by www.optimadesign.co.uk
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Case Study
Looking Forward...
Olympic Celebrations
Lincoln Christmas Market
Lincoln BIG was instrumental in bringing
the Olympics to Lincoln in 2012. We were
able to obtain funding and support for a
range of events and activities, attended
by over 10,000 people. This culminated in
the ‘Festival of Light’ Parade – created by
a group of artists and local young people
to celebrate the torch passing through
Lincoln and the countdown to the
opening of the Olympics.
As part of the Olympic celebrations,
Lincoln BIG erected a big screen in the
Cornhill showing live Olympic events.
We also put up over 2 kilometres of
bunting, flags, banners and flowers to
give the city centre an official Olympic
look and feel.
Lincoln Festival
Lincoln Farmers Markets
We establish great events to animate the City Centre and
create buzz and atmosphere. Our strategy for the next
five years is to promote an on-going programme of regular
activity and annual highlight events which we have helped
to nurture and support.
Building on the success of the Olympics,
Lincoln BIG was fortunate to secure a
grant from Arts Council England for a
two year City Centre events programme –
‘Lincoln Live’.
There will be many opportunities over
the next five years to develop this
programme and place Lincoln firmly
on the map as a City which delivers
great events.
Plans underway include the 800th
anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015
(and celebrations around its new home
within the refurbished Castle), delivery
of the collaborative Cultural Destinations
programme with almost £300,000 of
funding from Arts Council England, and
ideas how Lincoln can celebrate being
one of the fringe locations to Hull as the
Capital of Culture in 2017.
At the same time we will continue
to support Lincoln’s growing events
programme and activities such as
Frequency Digital Arts Festival.
We will also continue to do what we
can to make the City Centre easy to
use for events, street markets and our
annual schedule of activities such as our
festive Christmas programme.
Events organised by Lincoln BIG play a significant part in Lincoln’s annual calendar.
The new Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership for which we have secured funding from
the Arts Council will help to support a wide range of events such as the Steampunk
Festival and the International Chamber Music Festival.
Lincoln BIG has a management agreement with the City of Lincoln Council for the Cornhill
and City Square. A particular aim of our business plan going forward will be to provide a
spread of activity across the City from the Bailgate to the Brayford and St Marks.
Lincoln BIG play an important role in this process by booking public spaces, providing
licensing, health and safety advice, event equipment and offering support and funding
to event organisers wanting to bring their activities into town.
We plan to continue with our successful investment in seasonal events such as the
summer beach and winter ice rink, where it is viable to do so.
Lincoln Ice Rink
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Lincoln BIG operates the Visitor Information
Centre under a service level agreement with
the City of Lincoln Council and plans to
continue to do so, subject to the City
of Lincoln Council’s tendering processes.
Since taking on the operation in 2010 we
have significantly increased opening hours
from five to eight, increased retail turnover by
150% and secured an increase in visitors by
50% from 93,000 to 176,000 per annum.
However our support in terms of the development of tourism in
the City goes well beyond the Information Centre. In recognition of
the importance of tourism to the City, Lincoln BIG was one of the
founders of the Visit Lincoln Partnership, which we formed with
Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, the City of Lincoln Council
and other stakeholders in 2011.
Case Study
Communications
and Signage
In 2014, we achieved one of our
important strategic aims – better signage
to Lincoln. In May this year, three new
Brown Signs were installed on the A1 to
direct visitors to the city. This is something
that Lincoln BIG and partners have lobbied
for over ten years and worked closely with
Karl McCartney, Lincoln’s MP to achieve.
The new Brown Signs are set to be
complemented by an investment of over
£150,000 in new High Street signage,
including 3 digital ‘What’s On’ signs.
visitlincoln.com
Looking Forward...
During the past two years, Lincoln BIG has provided investment
of over £100,000 in the development of the City’s official visitor
website – VisitLincoln.com. This includes the secondment of a
full-time digital marketing co-ordinator who ensures the content is
up to date, interesting and informative. Social media channels are
also fully utilised in the promotion and marketing of the City.
The City has a massive opportunity to realise
its tourism potential, and we see this as a vital
component of our business plan, we need to
place Lincoln firmly on the map as a ‘must see’
City and our challenge will be to seize these
opportunities and establish Lincoln as a high
quality visitor destination.
We have also invested in the visitor experience with the
reintroduction of an open top tour bus service which we now run
successfully with Stagecoach Lincolnshire – one of our investor
members. Through our tourism activities we now employ two
full-time staff and up to twenty part-time and casual staff
including City guides.
This drive is not about Lincoln BIG alone, the City
and county councils and other stakeholders have
an important part to play – by spearheading
this campaign with Visit Lincoln we hope to get
everyone on board.
Plans underway include the expansion of our
ambassador programme, utilising trained
volunteers to assist visitors to navigate the City
Centre at key events. We will also continue
to build on our core activities to enhance the
visitor experience, developing our programme
of customer care training and continuing to
operate the Tour Lincoln Open Top Bus – a firm
favourite with visitors to the City.
If businesses support our proposals we plan
to invest over £100,000 in the campaign to
put Lincoln on the map in 2015.
Lincoln Ghost Walks
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
Visitor Information Centre
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Lincoln Castle Revealed
High on a hill surrounded by cobbled streets and standing opposite
one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, Lincoln Castle’s 1,000-year-old
story reaches new heights in 2015 as this historic site is brought to
life like never before.
The Lincoln Castle experience also includes the male and female
prisons and the stories of those once imprisoned there; the only
original chapel designed for the Separate system left in the world
today; and complete walks along the Norman walls. During the
restoration project, a number of significant archaeological finds
have been made – these will be on display in the Castle.
Lincoln Castle Revealed
2015 could be the most significant year for
the City in this generation. There are a number
of significant events taking place in 2015
that together give us a great opportunity
to attract more visitors to the City and raise
awareness of Lincoln as a place to live, work,
invest and visit.
Lincoln BIG will deliver a programme of events, street animation
and street dressing to support this significant year. We will also be
supporting a coordinated marketing campaign led by Visit Lincoln
and a significant customer service training programme. We must
ensure that Lincoln can offer a great quality experience to all
people who come to the City.
2015 is a fantastic platform for the City, from which we can
build in coming years. Below is just a snapshot of some of the
planned events.
Highlights
Magna Carta 800th Anniversary
Lincoln Castle Revealed opens to the public
Significant programme of events
National British Cycling Championships
& Lincoln Grand Prix
Bomber Command Memorial
Frequency Festival
We encourage all businesses to get involved with 2015 to ensure
that you benefit from this exciting year.
Magna Carta 800th Anniversary
Magna Carta, the great charter of rights and liberties, is regarded as
heralding the beginning of democracy and constitutional law in the
English-speaking world.
Owned by Lincoln Cathedral, the Lincoln manuscript is spending six
months in the USA during 2014 before taking up its new home in a
£22 million Magna Carta visitor attraction at Lincoln Castle, in time
for the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the historic document on
15 June, 2015.
Only four 1215 documents survive, and Lincoln’s parchment has
been in the City ever since it was sealed by King John.
Lincoln’s Magna Carta will take up residence in the new state of the
art audio visual Magna Carta Vault within the new-look Castle that
opens to the public in April 2015.
There will be a major programme of events and cultural activity
taking place in 2015 to celebrate the sealing of the Magna Carta
and the opening of the refurbished Castle.
Lincoln Grand Prix Cycle Race
National British Road Race Championships
25th - 28th June 2015
Each year the City of Lincoln welcomes top cyclists to the Grand Prix
Cycle Race. In 2015 the British Road Race Championships will also
come to Lincoln – with cyclists tackling the tough and exciting route
finishing in the cobbled Cathedral Quarter.
Lincolnshire Bomber Command Memorial
Open June 2015
A new memorial to the 25,611 aircrew who lost their lives flying
from Lincolnshire’s airfields will be erected on the outskirts of
Lincoln City Centre on Canwick Hill. This project will deliver the
most comprehensive coverage of Bomber Command in the world
covering the contribution and effect on 18 nations.
Frequency Festival
Visualisation of Lincolnshire Bomber Command Memorial
23rd October - 1st November 2015
Frequency Festival 2015 will see virtual realities blur with medieval
streets when Lincoln’s biennial festival of digital culture returns
for its third edition. This year, Frequency will explore the theme of
liberation, as part of the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of
the signing of the Magna Carta.
Lincoln Tank Memorial
10th May 2015
The unveiling of the Lincoln Tank Memorial will take place 100 years
after William Foster & Co Ltd were in the early stages of their work
with the Landship Committee which led to the first tank prototype
later in the year – code named a ‘Water Tank for Mesopotamia’.
The memorial will be sited on Tritton Road roundabout.
Frequency Festival
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Case Study
The Steep Hill Shuttle
In terms of access and parking, we
will continue to lobby for a City
Centre Park and Ride scheme and
look forward to the publication of
the City Council’s Parking Strategy.
We will enter a dialogue with the
new East Coast Trains operator
when they are announced in
late 2014 and continue to press
for improved train services from
London as well as continuing
to press for an improved service
between Lincoln and Nottingham.
The Lincoln BIG board continues to lobby for the introduction of
Park and Ride which we feel is an essential access component in a
historic city such as Lincoln which will be vital to the success of the
Lincoln Castle revealed investment. We are also working with the
Chamber of Commerce and our local MP to promote better rail
access to the City.
We have also carried out work to promote cycling including the
provision of cycle lockers and pooled electric bikes for City Centre
businesses and their employees to use.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
We plan to review operation of
the Walk and Ride service and see
what improvements we can make
to improve access between arrival
points, car parks and attractions
such as the Cathedral and Castle
particularly if there is a delay in
the implementation of Park
and Ride.
We will continue to explore ways
to develop and improve our
parking and bus deals for levy
payers and their employees.
We also plan to begin
negotiations to introduce a
commuter rail deal for people
travelling to the City by train.
Lincoln BIG recognises that access and
car parking are key issues for City Centre
businesses, and despite not owning land
itself, over the last five years Lincoln BIG has
worked hard to develop creative solutions to
improve access to the City Centre for workers,
shoppers and visitors. This has included a
number of direct initiatives to make a real
difference to people’s experience of working
in and visiting the City Centre.
Through our Access Opportunities Fund we have continued to
negotiate the bulk purchase of car parking permits in the City
Centre’s less pressured car parks and resell these to our levy payers.
We also purchase cheaper bus passes for resale. These initiatives
continue to be very successful, with over 300 daily commuters
using season tickets sold at these discounted rates.
Looking Forward...
In November 2013, to save it from closure Lincoln BIG took on the operation of the
Walk and Ride bus service in conjunction with the Lincoln Company – PC Coaches.
This ensured the continuation of a well-used City Centre shuttle bus service – providing
a vital transport link between the uphill and downhill areas of the City Centre.
The Walk and Ride bus service was re-launched in November 2013, with the service
running 6 days a week, ferrying shoppers and tourists between the uphill and downhill
areas of the City. The fleet of vehicles has been rebranded and now sports an orange
and white livery and operates under the nickname ‘The Steep Hill Shuttle’.
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Case Study
Christmas in the City Centre
Christmas is an important time for the
City and we work with the City Council
to support the Christmas lights switch
on and the Christmas market as well as
organising a number of supplementary
events to animate the Christmas season.
Looking Forward...
Lincoln has a great mix of both national and
independent shops and is an important retail
destination. Almost half of our City Centre levy
payers are retailers, and the sector employs
over 3,000 people in the City Centre alone.
As such, it is vital that we do our best to
promote this important sector.
Much of our work, such as events and seasonal street decoration,
benefits the retail sector but we also plan to promote both the
range of national brands and the quality independent offer through
the integration of the VisitLincoln.com and ShopLincoln.co.uk
websites. This will include features such as a search facility for
visitor accommodation.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
Lincoln has a great independent
retail sector which sets it apart from
its competitor cities. We plan to
support this sector through support
with promotions and marketing,
participation in national campaigns
such as Independents’ Day, and through
targeted social media campaigns where
we will be trialling the introduction
of social media coordinators for
communities of independent businesses.
Whilst the internet is a threat to the
High Street – it is also an opportunity.
We want to ensure that we are
making the most of new trends and
opportunities, such as multi-channel
retail and click and collect. Working
with Business in the Community we
will develop a digital High Street
Strategy to complement our physical
City Centre management approach.
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Information from our surveys indicate that the City generally
has a reputation for being a safe place and we want to keep
it that way, although more recently the prevalence of begging
and street drinking in particular has started to impact on
our reputation.
Safety and security is a key issue for both customers and staff and is particularly important
both in promoting the City as a visitor destination and in attracting students to our
universities and colleges. We work closely with Lincolnshire Police to address issues such
as street drinking and begging, which continue to have a negative impact on perceptions
of the City and a significant localised impact where they are prevalent. Shoplifting is also
an ongoing issue for City Centre retailers – having an impact on trade, staff morale and
reducing business profit. We successfully lobbied for the introduction of a ban on street
drinking where it is likely to lead to antisocial behaviour.
Lincoln BIG operates a number of initiatives to help reduce crime and make Lincoln City
Centre a safer place. These include our Security Group which has over 200 members who
regularly share information about persistent offenders in real time through our radio link,
and online through our website and reporting tools. We have recently introduced secure
tablet computers which link to this as well.
Case Study
Diverted Giving Scheme
Faced with an increase in the number
of people begging on the street, Lincoln
BIG has worked with two local homeless
charities, Lincolnshire Police and local
businesses to establish and promote
diverted giving. This encourages a
person to make a charitable donation
to support agencies, rather than hand
it to someone who is begging where
the likelihood is that it will be used
for drugs. The campaign has received
extensive media coverage and helped
to raise awareness of the issues that
begging can cause.
Looking Forward...
The use of technology is key
to our future strategy and
we will look to utilise new
technologies wherever we can.
We will evaluate the use of tablet
computers and consider rolling
these out extensively. We also
plan to review the potential for
new digital radio equipment.
Working with Lincolnshire Police
and others we will continue to
tackle issues around homelessness,
begging and street drinking.
Membership of the City Centre security group is provided as a free service to all levy payers
and offered commercially outside of the City Centre. We also continue to work closely with
the City Centre police team on anti-social behaviour initiatives and civil recovery schemes.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Looking Forward...
A seminar was held in July 2014 to
consider the good management of
Lincoln’s Evening and Night time
economy and determine Lincoln BIG’s
Strategy and investment in respect of
its 2015-2020 business plan.
The workshop considered the presence
of ‘Safe Guardians’ in the City Centre,
including Police, door staff, wardens
and pastors; promoting the evening
economy and encouraging a diversity
of activity, and the good management
of the evening economy including its
impact on local residents.
Case Study
Lincoln BIG’s Evening Economy
management programme
brings together partners with
an interest in the evening
economy and aims to
co-ordinate a range of
initiatives to ensure a safe,
vibrant and accessible city
at night.
Key initiatives include two professionally
managed Pub Watch schemes which now
extend to cover almost all licensed premises
in the City Centre, evening safety wardens
on key evenings and support for the Lincoln
street pastors initiative.
Lincoln Evening
Safety Project
This was a two year project made
possible with £90,000 of funding from
the Department of Communities and
Local Government (DCLG). The project
aimed to reduce alcohol related anti-social
behaviour and binge drinking amongst
young people in the City Centre at night.
It also provided financial support for the
street pastors and an additional warden
presence over the last two years. It has
funded initiatives such as the BIG Society
Bubble which has worked with seven
schools in the Lincoln area, engaging
over 1,500 young people in workshops
to raise awareness of alcohol misuse and
anti-social behaviour. In September 2013,
we received a visit from Baroness Newlove
and the DCLG team to see the school
workshops in action.
Together, these programmes have assisted
Lincoln to renew its purple flag status –
the new quality assurance management
standard for evening economy operation
in the UK.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
Evening Economy Group will be
re-established, this will engage with
late night operators and follow up on
key issues identified including:
Triage and multi-agency Events
should be held to carry out
awareness raising activities
The improved two way flow of
information sharing between
partners
Primary research with consumers
of the evening economy
Increased use and powers of
pub watch
A programme to better train
door staff
Promotion of the whole of the
evening and night time offer in
the City Centre including keeping
the City Centre retail and cultural
offer alive into the early evening
Better management of late night
litter and antisocial behaviour
Traffic and crowd management
associated with late night eating
establishments and taxi provision.
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Lincoln BIG’s warden team ensures that the
City Centre is bright and welcoming and raises
the quality of experience of the City Centre for
businesses, residents and visitors.
Our three City Centre wardens help to address quality standards,
and street management issues throughout the City Centre. They
provide a caretaking and ambassadorial presence – directly tackling
problems such as graffiti and flyposting. They are also trained in First
Aid and defibrillator use and, through their contact with the CCTV
team, are often the first line of support to arrive at an incident. The
wardens have been involved in several City Centre enhancement
projects, including Motherby Hill as part of the newly launched
Roman trail route.
The street management programme also seeks to foster close
working with other services that impact on the City Centre,
including those delivered by Lincolnshire County Council, the
City Centre policing team and the City of Lincoln Council, all of
which actively support and make financial contributions to the
warden service.
In 2013 we introduced the Lincoln ambassador scheme which
encouraged local people to get involved in supporting City Centre
events and activities.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
Case Study
Looking Forward...
Lincoln in Bloom
Over the last five years, Lincoln BIG has
been responsible for delivering the Lincoln
in Bloom initiative which is supported
by over 100 local businesses. We work
closely with businesses to create interest,
colour and a welcoming street scene for
businesses, residents and visitors to the
City with a particular focus on summer
floral displays and Christmas decorations.
The programme also works with partners
to improve poorly maintained areas of
land within the City Centre, through the
use of landscaping and floral features
such as street planters and barrier baskets
which can make a real difference to the
experience of the City Centre.
We will introduce a new
customer care training
programme around the Magna
Carta linked to the World Host
Programme in the spring of 2015.
We also plan to submit a bid to the
Heritage Lottery Fund for funding
for City ambassador and guide
training. The intention is to ensure
that we are widely promoting
our heritage to visitors and their
experience of the City Centre is
both welcoming and enjoyable.
Utilising new technologies, we will
invest in a new ‘Geopal’ reporting
tool which will allow the City
Centre wardens to record incidents
whilst on the street with automatic
geo location and reporting, the
tool will also allow the wardens
to directly update our database
to ensure that we have up to date
contact details and communication
with businesses.
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Lincoln City Centre is the largest employment centre in
Lincolnshire, employing over 10,000 people and a key driver
for the local economy. Our levy payers include the University
of Lincoln, Lincoln College the City and County Councils;
solicitors, accountants, banks and financial institutions, as well
as over 200 office based employers.
Looking Forward...
We plan to introduce a new
loyalty scheme for City Centre
workers, this will be linked to
our Shop Lincoln website and
will offer deals and discounts
only to City Centre workers
rather than the general public.
We have researched similar
schemes across the UK and have
designed our websites based on
best practice examples.
Much of the work that Lincoln BIG does to attract shoppers and visitors to the City Centre
also benefits all City Centre businesses by making it a better place for customers, visitors
and staff. We want the City Centre to maintain its role as an employment centre and be a
great place to work.
For many people, the cost of working in the City Centre, with access and parking is higher
than if they worked on an industrial estate. With this in mind, Lincoln BIG introduced
the Access Opportunities Fund to support City Centre employees and promote City
centre working.
Case Study
Access Opportunities Fund
Lincoln BIG carries out a number of direct initiatives to make a real difference to people’s
experience of working and visiting the City Centre.
We also want to encourage
inter-trading between City
centre businesses through
our new business directory,
particularly amongst Lincoln’s
growing number of our
creative businesses.
Through our Access Opportunities Fund we negotiate the bulk purchase of car parking
spaces in the City Centre’s less pressured car parks and resell these to our levy payers,
we also purchase cheaper bus passes for resale. These initiatives continue to be very
successful, with over 300 daily commuters using season tickets sold at these
discounted rates.
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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However, we can ensure that the business
voice is heard – through the local area
forums we support we have helped
businesses to campaign on the local
issues that concern them.
As an organisation we are able to take
action where others may not, or don’t feel
it’s their responsibility such as lobbying for
brown signs on the A1.
Lincoln BIG is a business in its own right –
this involves managing staff, premises, VAT
returns and utilities in order to deliver our
work programme. We are also one of the
most successful BIDs in the UK at securing
external funding – with funding over the
last five years secured from a range of
sources including Arts Council England, the
Mary Portas initiative and over £600,000 of
European funds. This all requires significant
monitoring, and reporting in terms of
staffing and establishing effective and
efficient management systems.
Lincoln BIG is business led, business controlled and business
funded – meeting the needs of levy payers and their employees
is our priority.
We work closely with the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce to create a single business
voice within the City to introduce a number of joint services. Local area representation is
provided through the Bailgate Area Guild, Brayford Business Forum, Bottom of the Hill
Group and major High Street Traders. Each of these groups has their own agenda and
programme of activity supported by Lincoln BIG.
We also carry out local consultations and support voluntary and community groups where
issues affect businesses. In the last year these have included working with businesses in the
South High Street around the level crossing issues.
City Centres are dynamic, changing places
and effective town centre management
is about managing this change to the
maximum benefit of the locality. Good
ideas abound and as part of national and
international network of town and city
management, Lincoln BIG is well placed
to share ideas and best practices.
Whilst not every idea will work for Lincoln,
many do and it means that Lincoln will be a
dynamic city at the forefront of new ideas
and practices.
Lincoln BIG does not own land and property and we have no statutory powers.
We therefore rely on the goodwill and cooperation of a large range of stakeholders
particularly the City and County Councils to deliver our programme of activity.
We want to see the City Centre doing well and because of the relationships we have built
up we are well placed to do this, responding quickly to changing circumstances and issues.
Because of its partnership nature, it is not always easy for Lincoln BIG as an organisation to
take a public stand on some of the issues that some businesses would like us to.
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Overview
Duration
It is proposed that the Lincoln BID will operate for the period 2015-2020.
After this period it can only be extended or renewed subject to a new vote.
The Levy
The BID levy will be collected by the City of Lincoln Council, based on the rules for nondomestic rates. This will be governed by a Service Level Agreement between Lincoln BIG
and the City of Lincoln Council.
BID Area
The area to be included in the BID plan is as 2010-2015, a full list of streets will be
published in our formal plan. See overleaf for map.
The BID levy for the period July 2015 - July 2020 will be fixed based on the 2010 rateable
value of property as at 25th September 2014 and any changes to the Rateable Value after
this date, with the exception of those listed below and inflation, will not affect the BID
levy charged.
At a 1% BID levy, the indicative costs to a business would be:
Rateable Property
Value of Annual BID levy
Weekly Cost
Daily Cost
£6,000
£60
£1.15
£0.16
£20,000
£200
£3.85
£0.55
£50,000
£500
£9.60
£1.37
£100,000
£1,000
£19.23
£2.75
£250,000
£2,500
£48.08
£6.89
£500,000
£5,000
£96.15
£13.74
In terms of impact, larger businesses with a rateable value between £100,000 - £500,000+
will pay over 50% of the annual contribution, whilst the very smallest businesses with
rateable values between £6,000 - £10,000 will contribute around 4% of the total.
Cost of Collection
Once agreed the BID levy is treated in the same way as business rates and the collection
procedures and powers will be governed by the City of Lincoln Council under a service
level agreement with the Lincoln BIG board.
The City of Lincoln Council will charge Lincoln BIG for the cost of collection,
their proposed annual charge for this service is awaited.
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The BID Levy BID Area Map
Important Key Facts
It is proposed that the BID levy will remain
at 1% of rateable value.
Due to the impact of inflation it is proposed
to raise the threshold of Rateable Value
at which the BID levy is charged to £6,000
(as opposed to £5,000 currently). The initial list
indicates that there are 810 business ratepayers
who will receive a BID levy.
Inflation to the BID levy will be applied
based on the Retail Price Index at the
beginning of May each year.
No development or ballot costs will be
recovered through the levy.
It is proposed that unoccupied premises will be
charged the full levy with the exception of
properties left empty due to administration
or liquidation.
It is anticipated that owners of the
managed shopping centres will continue
to make additional contributions through
the investor membership of Lincoln BIG
in a similar proportion to the BID levy paid by
their tenants.
Educational institutions will be charged
the full 1% levy. They have much to gain
from Lincoln BIG, through improved marketing
alongside a better City Centre ambience to
attract students and conferences.
Charity shops benefit from marketing, improved
retail ambience and free security group
membership. Charity shops will be charged
at 0.5% of the BID levy.
All non-retail and non-commercial charities
will not be charged the BID levy.
New premises constructed during the term
will pay a levy based on the rateable value
at the time of occupation.
Where property is split or merged, the levy
will be based on the new rateable values
issued at the time of the change.
Managed shopping centres already provide
some of the services proposed in the BID
Business Plan, particularly security and
cleaning. However, businesses will benefit
from the marketing, events, environmental
and access improvements and tourism footfall.
In recognition of this, a levy of 0.5% will
be applied to tenants of managed
shopping centres.
Any Questions?
Please contact Sharon Stone
[email protected]
- Membership Services Co-ordinator
or any member of the Lincoln BIG Team:
Matt Corrigan, Chief Executive
[email protected]
Michael Armstrong, Operations and Events Manager
[email protected]
Marion Cooney, Evening Economy Manager
[email protected]
Yvette Hall, Security Group Co-ordinator
[email protected]
Michelle Sims, Visitor Information Manager
[email protected]
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
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The BID Levy
The Board
Income & Expenditure Projections
Typical Year Forecast
Trading Income
Great Events
£100,000
A Great Place to Visit
£150,000
Accessible City
Grants \ Donations
£100,000
£100,000
£5,000
Great Shopping
Safe & Secure
A Great Night Out
Clean, Bright & Welcoming
£30,000
Total
The BID Levy
Total Investment
£90,000
£290,000
£50,000
£200,000
£20,000
£125,000
£15,000
£15,000
£30,000
£60,000
£5,000
£5,000
£30,000
£40,000
£10,000
£5,000
£60,000
£75,000
£20,000
£20,000
A Great Place to do Business
A Dynamic Partnership
BID Levy
£10,000
£105,000
£70,000
£185,000
£405,000
£220,000
£385,000
£1,010,000
BID Levy Directors
Investor Members
Our BID levy payers in the City Centre appoint six Board Directors
Our four Investor members share three board seats
Mark Hollingworth, Flowers by Suzanne
Sue Gadsby, Gadsby’s
John O’Donoghue, Home and Craft
Scott Ward, James Usher
Will Downing, Pygott & Crone
Martin Macwhinnie, Capital & Regional –
Waterside Centre
Herman Kok, Lindum Group
Dave Skepper, Stagecoach Lincolnshire
Cormac Hamilton, Standard Life –
St Marks Shopping Centre
Stan Matthews, Thompson & Richardson (Lincoln) Limited
Co-opted Directors
The Board chooses to co-opt six directors from key City Centre
organisations
Founder Members
Our Founder members who helped to establish our organisation
are the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and the City of Lincoln
Council. Each appoints two board directors.
Chief Executive, Lincoln Cathedral
Ursula Lidbetter, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce
Ian Sackree, Lincoln College
Suzanne Sampson, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce
Councillor Marc Jones, Lincolnshire County Council
Councillor Ric Metcalfe, City of Lincoln Council
Chief Inspector Stewart Brinn, Lincolnshire Police
Councillor Donald Nanestaad, City of Lincoln Council
John Plumridge, Director of Estates
Exit Strategy
Elly Sample, University of Lincoln
Exit Arrangements
Should the BID Ballot in November fail to gain majority support from businesses, we will wind
up the activities of Lincoln BIG, based on contractual, staffing and financial considerations –
in that order. We will aim to do this in a way which will minimise disruption to our levy payers.
We will continue our full range of services until December
2014 and deliver 2014 Christmas marketing, ice rink and
our Christmas lighting schemes.
No new schemes will be developed and no renewals or
new applications for access group car parking and bus
deals will be accepted from November 2014.
In March 2015 our events programme will cease, and
car parking and bus deals terminated, web sites will
close and security group services cease, Evening Economy
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Lincoln BIG Business Plan 2015-20
management programmes will be terminated, and our
administration of trader group meetings cease, the
Lincoln In Bloom will terminate and the Radio Link
close down.
July 2015 – Lincoln BIG will cease to operate, the City
Centre Wardens will terminate and the Lincoln BIG
office close.
Any remaining assets of Lincoln BIG will be passed to another
organisation at the discretion of the Lincoln BIG board.
www.lincolnBIG.co.uk 01522 545233
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Getting Involved
If you are interested in any of the projects or activities detailed in this report and want to
get involved, then there are a number of ways that you can do this.
Lincoln BIG’s activities are also overseen and supported by a number of working groups.
These include an In Bloom Committee, Safety and Security Group, Evening Economy
Group and Local Area Forums.
Contact
If you’d like to find out more about any of Lincoln BIG’s activities or ways you
can get involved, please contact Sharon Stone [email protected]
– Membership Services Co-ordinator or any member of the Lincoln BIG Team:
Matt Corrigan, Chief Executive
[email protected]
Michael Armstrong, Operations and Events Manager
[email protected]
Marion Cooney, Evening Economy Manager
[email protected]
Yvette Hall, Security Group Co-ordinator
[email protected]
Michelle Sims, Visitor Information Manager
[email protected]
Lincoln Business Improvement Group
St. Swithins House
3-5 St. Swithins Square
Lincoln
LN2 1HA
t 01522 545233 f 01522 545833 e [email protected]
www.lincolnbig.co.uk