Quote from Sam Good, BID Manager: “Since being voted in by the businesses of Colchester City Centre in 2018, Our Colchester Business Improvement District (BID) has supported the new City Centre through potentially the toughest time for businesses in a generation. From a nationwide lockdown due to the pandemic in March 2020, a cost-of-living crisis, energy crisis, and everything in between, the BID has taken every opportunity to step up and provide support where needed, carefully listening to the specific needs of our businesses and other organisations within Colchester City Centre. The BID has enabled an investment of over £2.5million into the City Centre through the BID levy accompanied by an additional income through external funding of over £865k.

As the BID moves towards a new and exciting five-year term, the BID has adopted its new direction. The next five years will focus on supporting Colchester City Centre “to be a place where businesses of all shapes and sizes can develop and thrive in a collaborative, engaging, mixed-use environment, with people and business firmly at is heart; fit for now and fit for the future”

Here are some of the BID’s highlights from over the last five years:

• • With an investment of £2.5million over its first five-year period, the BID has used this funding to extend this investment to over £3.3million through external funding.
  • The delivery of  two extremely successful Business Awards programmes with two sell-outs awards evening, thousands of public votes and a wealth of business celebrated for their excellence
  • Delivery of over 150 planters across the City Centre each year to enhance the place with more greening
  • Delivery of the first Parklets in Essex, implementing more seating space for the public to dwell including additional greening
  • Launched a market-leading consumer website InColchester, delivering an ‘all you need to know’ hub about the City Centre
  • Delivery of over £75k worth of funding to local events to deliver a great calendar of events including Colchester Pride, Colchester Fringe Festival, Invasion, Anti-Loo Roll Brigade Festival and much more
  • Chairing the Colchester Place-Marketing Board to drive forward inward investment, a collective voice and increased tourism investment
  • Formation of Leisure Recovery Board and launch of Leisure Recovery Strategy, attracting over £250k of investment in its first 6 months
  • Essex’s first ‘Innovative Giving’’ campaign to divert giving to local charities supporting those with street-based lifestyles or those who are homeless via Tap2Change
  • Over £350k worth of investment into our Indie Vision to support our independent businesses in the City Centre
  • Management of City Centre Christmas programme of events including last year Christmas Light Parade, Late Wednesday programme and regional leading Christmas marketing campaign with our video over the last two years gaining over 1.8million impressions
  • Launch of our new Future of Retail Vision to support our fast-evolving retail sector
  • Our Colchester BID has led the city on reopening through the pandemic through:
    • The creation and chairing of the Covid-19 Taskforce and Recovery Strategy signed up to by all City Centre stakeholders
    • Delivery of safety installations such as hand sanitizers, safety signage and more
    • Supporting business to gain access to over £150k worth of covid-19 related grants that they were not aware they could access
  • Our Colchester BID has supported businesses in the BID area, by maintaining a trusted voice and set of marketing channels.
  • Our Colchester BID is your collective voice and has championed their vision for the last 5 years.