‘Have your say’ (business plan response)
BUSINESS PLAN SECTION: ‘HAVe YOUR SAY’ (page 18. £14,000/yr annualised)
Here’s what Taunton BID have presented us so far, each point with a sentence starting in bold is one of their headline ideas, and bullet points are suggestions of what you may want to consider when analysing the ideas presented. You are of course entitled to provide your own feedback and ask questions of any member of the Taunton BID steering group, and we encourage that.
Provide business with an opportunity to ensure their voices are heard in any decisions taken about developments or activities in the BID area.
Any form of lobbying is good, and there will be a full time BID Manager and Board of Directors to undertake this. Lobbying does of course take place now i.e. Taunton Chamber of Commerce, Trading Groups / Associations and public representation to the Council. So we’re not denying ourselves anything if BID is not voted in, and our district council at least seem willing to take input from all quarters, which is re-assuring to know.
Without a BID there are alternatives for town businesses to have their voices heard, we explore some in this artice “It’s not a matter of BID or BUST!”, one of which is a voluntary business association to represent the voice of Taunton businesses. With the ending of formal Town Centre Management in Tooting, a report by the Chief Executive of Wandsworth Council on the NO outcome of the Tooting Business Improvement District ballot (November 2019) confirms a voluntary business association will be established to provide ‘the voice” a BID would have as a focal point for future engagement with the Council and other agencies. A good council will value business representation in what ever form, and Tooting is an example of a Council willing to embrace this approach.
Produce regular newsletters and meetings to tell you what is happening.
Good idea and really important for the BID to do, and whether it was promised or not at the time, Taunton’s last failed BID 2007-12 had communication problems as we reported here. Slight worry is the phrase “tell you what is happening”, seems a bit too autocratic really, as surely it makes sense for the BID company to seek and all member businesses (as opposed to just the 15 Board Directors) want to feel they can provide feedback, ideas and have a real sense of involvement etc. The BID development process hasn’t been very inclusive of businesses i.e. how many of you were individually asked for feedback on or even seen the draft business plan for input, before receiving the final copy to vote on? From what we gather not many.
BUDGET: £14,000/yr annualised
It’s right that a budget has been allocated as it’s only likely there will be some costs i.e. printing, venue hire, hospitality etc, but seems quite a big budget when you compare to “cutting costs” which appears under estimated. Again, has this section been properly costed out, as lobbying can be a low / near enough nil cost activity.
Here are more of our business plan response articles for you to read.
Click on image to download our 8 page PDF booklet (opens in a new window).