Stratford BID chairman says businesses positive about new plans
IT’S business as usual or is it?
Stratford BID officially launched its business plan last Thursday and while a handful of those opposed to the BID in its current format gathered outside the Hotel du Vin in Rother Street to protest against the BID board, its chairman, Rich Jones, said the two-hour informal launch had gone “very well”.
However, nagging questions about the BID’s new five-year plan refuse to go away and have become more prominent in the run up to the BID vote which starts today (Friday).
Key among these is the criticism the plan lacks detail about delivering its budget, that elements of it just replicate what was said five years ago with little progress made and in a thought-provoking development - does Stratford even need a BID anymore?
While protestors held vote no posters at the launch, the current BID board said the response to the plan from Stratford businesses who attended was good.
BID chairman and Bell Court Centre Manager, Rich Jones, said: “The launch went very well. There’s been some difficult questions which we’ve tried to answer about what the BID’s plan is for the town but a lot of people are happy with it and it’s been nice to speak with them in person. It’s a five year plan and we‘d urge people to give it a good read and approach us if they have any further questions. We wanted to keep this launch as informal as possible. It was a chat over coffee, a chance to ask questions and take a business plan brochure away with you – we are listening. We weren’t surprised there were protestors. They are entitled to their opinion and they can vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but we’d urge them to speak with us because we all want to be building for the future of this town.”
Full details of the plan were featured in last week’s Herald and among the many commitments BID has pledged to deliver is funding for extra police officers, a food and motor festival, support for the town’s Christmas lights, year-round events like a riverside beach, outdoor cinema, ice skating rink, Christmas grotto and a vintage car show.
However, the town’s hugely popular River Festival isn’t part of the future vision for the time being and event which critics point out is ring-fenced each year to the tune of £45,000 so it can take place but as it hasn’t been held since before 2020 therefore what’s happened to the £135,000 set aside during this period?
The plan is not capable of delivering what is required to regenerate Stratford. That’s according to Kevin and Pauline Taylor who this week addressed their concerns about the plan in a letter to the Herald. Mr Taylor is a former BID board member.
They describe BID’s new five-year business plan as a glossy brochure with lots of promises but doesn’t give enough detail in delivery or budget. They believe BID has increased the rateable value to £15k which excludes 110 smaller businesses, (who have paid the levy for the last 15 years) from voting.
They urge businesses to think long and hard about what this BID has done positively for their business and the town in the last five years?
Seasonal favourites like the Christmas lights plus a year-round programme of events also come under the microscope.
The lights switch on has been going for 40 years long before BID – Mr Taylor pointed out – and it was always a town council event on a Thursday evening. Now it’s been taken over by BID to coincide with Bell Court’s Saturday lights switch on. It’s still in a transitional period with insufficient data to justify its benefit to businesses having it on a Saturday.
“The BID chairman states they have listened to businesses but we can’t believe businesses suggest a riverside beach? The riverside doesn’t need any more help attracting visitors. Before BID and the excessive Waterside markets, the Bancroft and riverside has attracted visitors. Stratford is in danger of becoming compared to failing traditional seaside resorts,” Mr Taylor commented in his letter.
And finally, he’s of the belief the town centre needs to be a more aesthetically pleasing, happier, more vibrant and a welcoming environment for residents and visitors alike.
The ballot will run from 26th January to 22nd February with the results being announced the following day.
More thoughts on the Bid plan
- Sending people to riverside attractions won’t help businesses who have paid the levy.
- Insufficient detail about how many police officers will be funded, the frequency they operate in extended BID area and total cost? (UK average is £45k per officer per annum).
- Continuing with the 40 flower towers - was this a good utilisation of the £34,000 provided by UK Prosperity Funds?
- Support the development of an evening economy but nothing achieved in the last five years.
- BID has never consulted the town’s 30,000 residents.
