Weymouth & Portland Borough Council’s management committee will meet on Tuesday 5th March when the Weymouth BID (Business Improvement District) business plan will be submitted for approval.
Nigel Reed, Chair of the Weymouth BID said “Following our “Drop In” session which was held on 31 January between business owners within the levy payment area and the BID Steering group some modifications were made to the Weymouth BID Business Plan. The Council’s role on the 5th March, will be to agree the business plan and check that it does not conflict with any local authority policies, it will also agree that the BID should conduct a ballot in May”
Modifications to the Business Plan include :
· An increase in support for promotional parking and to encourage more free parking opportunities through discussions with the operators of all car parks. Some of the businesses saw this as one of the main reasons why visitors are not spending time or money in the town
· To look at environmental changes. This subject was raised as a concern by professional services legal and financial sectors. The look and feel of a town was very important to this group.
· Many businesses raised the point that seasonality affected all sectors as well as tourism and the BID has expanded the scope of the business plan accordingly to reflect this.
Weymouth businesses within the levy payment area have been instrumental in creating the business plan. Each week the support from Levy Payers for a YES vote is increasing. On 28th February the Weymouth BID Steering group met with over 20 young people at Budmouth College who reviewed the BID proposal and made suggestions and observations from this age group. The session was extremely useful and this format will be repeated as the BID project progresses.
Many Weymouth business owners found the informal face-to-face style meeting very useful in forming ideas and questions around the possibility of having a BID in Weymouth. Due to the success of the first meeting more meetings have been organised on Thursday 14th March and Thursday 18th April at 15h30 – 18h00 at the William Henry public house in Weymouth where refreshments will be provided. These meetings are only for Weymouth businesses within the potential levy payment area.
The Weymouth BID Steering Group:
Name Company
Nigel Reed Chair & BID Co-ordinator
Barrie Huett Albert Goodman
Brian Cooper Resort Marketing Ltd
Cherise Luke-Bennett Battens
Craig Dunkerley Merlin Entertainment – Sea Life
Rob Jones Weymouth College Vice Principal
Chris Reay Channel Hotel
Roger Dalton HTS Seafood Festival WP Economy Group Chair
Tim Williams Wilkinsons
Rob Cole The Esplanade Hotel
Anna-Maria Geare President WP Chamber & LloydsTSB
Trevor Hedger EDO WPBC BID Support Officer
The Weymouth BID Steering Group continued
Sophie Jibet Kermani The Dining Room
Joy Sangster Dream Cottages
Steve Newstead Wetherspoon’s
Nick Maybour McDonalds
Ian Moore Howleys Toymaster
Craig Tizzard Debenhams
Cllr Ian Munro Price WPBC Briefholder
Nigel Reed, Chair of the Weymouth BID said: “Obtaining a YES vote for Weymouth in May would mean that at least £300,000 a year for 5 years would be spent by the businesses in Weymouth on projects which they agree are most beneficial for the town. It is very important that we keep talking to businesses to ensure that the Weymouth BID reflects the ambitions and desires of the business community.
Businesses and press are encouraged to come along to the meeting on 14thMarch at the William Henry Public House in Weymouth or call Nigel Reed on 07557 142906, email at [email protected] . More information is available at www.weymouthbid.co.uk.
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