Supporting Weston Businesses
Working together to make Weston a great place in which to work, live and visit.
ABOUT US
The Weston Business Improvement District (BID) has been in operation since 2012 and is delivered through Weston Town Centre Partnership Ltd, which is a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee, set up in 1998.
The BID area covers Weston Town Centre and works with c. 450 Voting Levy Payers.
Businesses with a rateable value of £7,500 and over within the defined area pay, 1.5% levy based on their rateable value.
Weston town centre businesses voted in favour to renew the BID in 2016 and 2021 and BID3 will run until March 2027.
Weston BID works in close partnership with North Somerset Council and Weston Town Council.
THE OPERATIONAL TEAM
| Paul Batts | Chairperson Weston BID |
| Steve Townsend | Town Centre/BID Manager |
| Beverley Tucker | Assistant Town Centre Manager |
| Jeanie Thompson | Business Crime Reduction Manager |
The Operational team is supported by a voluntary Board of Directors, an Executive Committee and a BID Steering Group.
GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL
- BID Levy Letters/Annual Reports
- Annual Accounts
- Minutes
CURRENT BID3
Our third term officially started from the 1st April 2022 and we’re here to support our incredible business community here in Weston.
Huge thanks to everyone who voted delivering a 68% majority in favour, and to all those who have been part of our journey.
Please read through the Business Plan for BIDs Third Term, showcasing how Weston BID intends to work in partnership and their vision, aims and objectives, all informed by our business community.
Declaration of Ballot.
We are pleased to share our achievements within the first year (April 2022 to March 2023), within each of our themes.
We are pleased to be offering support for BID businesses with their gas and electricity bills, with a new service to potentially obtain refunds on previously brokered contracts.
Find out more from our leaflet, including contact details for our advisor.
Weston Business Crime Reduction Initiative (WBCRI)
WBCRI Radio link scheme is managed by Weston Town Centre Partnership, and currently has schemes running in Weston-super-Mare, Nailsea, Portishead & Clevedon.
The scheme provides local business (day & night) with a handheld digital radio, with permanent talk through capability. This means that members can communicate with each other, Street Wardens (Weston), the CCTV Control Room, and Police. Information regarding crime, disturbances, and nuisances are transmitted, and members can also use the scheme to request assistance from others.
The scheme is managed by our Business Crime Reduction Manager who administers our incident recording data base, co-ordinates intelligence sharing meetings and provides training and support. The cost to join the initiative and rent a handset is £8:00 per week.
PROJECTS
Street Wardens – Patrolling the BID area 7 days per week, 364 days a year. Tackling crime, anti-social behaviour, reducing stock loss and assisting businesses wherever we can.
DISC – provision of bespoke crime database where incidents are loaded to a central system.
Provision, maintenance and watering of floral displays.
MARKETING & EVENTS
Placemaking
We are one of four Place Agency members who have agreed to combine marketing & communications budgets to fund a shared resource to coordinate activity – over £100,000 in year one.
- Share the branding and collateral with local businesses and organisations and manage/monitor the brand to maintain high-quality standards, reporting concerns to the Place Agency.
- Develop and share further resources e.g., additional images and templates.
- Engage further appropriate partners in this activity to increase the budget for campaigns.
- Agree on the marketing identity which the Place Agency should adopt for its campaigns and develop messaging and collateral around this.
- Work with Place Agency partners to develop and deliver a detailed 1-year marketing and communications plan as part of a high-level 3-year plan.
- Design and deliver at least 2 national-level campaigns and 2 regional campaigns in the 1st year to reach the agreed target markets.
- Develop and deliver partner communications, sharing news and information, details of activity, successes, and opportunities for engagement.
- Work with Place Agency members; residents; businesses; and organisations to generate content for campaigns and messaging platforms.
- Maintain, develop, and update the Super Weston website and social media channels.
- Work with event organisers to maximise promotional opportunities for the town.
FOOTFALL
We have four sensors that allow us to gather anonymised data to provide unique visitor counts in key locations within the town.
Our placemaking teams can access the data to gather insights on visitor behaviour, identifying areas of high and low footfall providing quantitative insights for future activities, development and support funding bids.
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Cost reduction
Business cost reduction saving our levy payers thousands by facilitating the switch to cheaper utility deals and tariffs with our partner Greenest Energy Southwest.
Grants
Provision of a grant budgets to support levy paying businesses to develop an idea, concept, event or even artwork for a shutter!
Social Media
Promotion of Weston levy paying businesses via social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – all co-ordinated by our experts at Morledge &Co.
Here is the latest edition of our monthly social media report, which show you how much your BID and its partners are achieving for you and your local area.
Get in touch
Address:
The Sovereign, BS23 1HL
Street Wardens – 07725 839234
Steve Townsend, Town Centre Partnership & BID – 07845 736840
steve.townsend@wsmtcp.co.uk
Beverley Tucker, Town Centre Partnership, BID & Highways – 07776 170229
beverley.tucker@n-somerset.gov.uk
Jeanie Thompson, Radio Link
jeanie.thompson@wsmtcp.co.uk