Introduction 2 Great Events 4 A Great Place to Visit 6 <strong>Lincoln</strong> in <strong><strong>20</strong>15</strong> 8 An Accessible City 10 Great Shopping 12 Safe & Secure 14 A Great Night Out 16 Clean, Bright & Welcoming 18 A Great Place to do <strong>Business</strong> <strong>20</strong> A Dynamic Partnership 22 The BID Levy 24 Overview 25 BID Area Map 26 Important Key Facts 27 Income & Expenditure Projections 28 Exit Strategy 28 The Board 29 Our Achievements 30 Contact Us 32 <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Improvement Group St. Swithins House 3-5 St. Swithins Square <strong>Lincoln</strong> LN2 1HA t 01522 545233 f 01522 545833 e info@lincolnbig.co.uk www.lincolnbig.co.uk None of the costs of producing this report has been funded by the BID Levy. Designed by www.optimadesign.co.uk About <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> The <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Improvement Group (<strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong>) aims to put <strong>Lincoln</strong> on the map as a retail and tourist destination and improve the experience of the City Centre in <strong>Lincoln</strong> for those who live, work invest and visit. <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> has been in existence as a business since <strong>20</strong>03 and has been a <strong>Business</strong> Improvement District (BID) since <strong>20</strong>05. During this time, we have achieved some great things. Highlights from our last five years include: At the same time, we continue to provide our core services to businesses which include employing the City Centre wardens, producing and circulating the City Talk newsletter, <strong>Lincoln</strong> in Bloom, Christmas arrangements, dealing with security incidents, and administering the Pub Watch scheme. During the last five years our total investment in <strong>Lincoln</strong> City Centre has amounted to £6.5 million some £1.6 million of this has been funded through the BID levy which is funded by a levy on business rates of 1% of rateable values. We have generated the rest. Our aim is to match and exceed this performance in the next five years – providing core services and focusing on key issues and opportunities that affect the City Centre. Our philosophy is simple, if the City Centre is clean, bright and welcoming with lots of activity and events taking place then more people will visit, and when they do visit they will stay longer. Our work also ensures that the City Centre is a great place in which to operate a business, and a better environment for staff to work in. The <strong>Lincoln</strong> BID Re-ballot <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> is a business is in its own right, controlled by a board of directors drawn from City Centre stakeholders. Every five years, business rate payers in the City Centre are invited to vote for the continuation of <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> for the next five years. All business ratepayers in the area have a vote on the proposals and to go ahead more than 50% of those who vote have to vote ‘yes’. Those in favour must also represent at least 50% of the rateable value of those who vote. Ballot Timescale This ballot will be held during October and will close on 4th November <strong>20</strong>14, when businesses will decide whether to continue to support <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> for a further five years from the summer of <strong><strong>20</strong>15</strong>. Further details of the ballot, including a downloadable voter nomination form can be found on our website www.lincolnbig.co.uk Ballot papers sent out to eligible voters by Thursday 25th September <strong>20</strong>14 Appointment of proxy by 5.00pm on Friday 3rd October <strong>20</strong>14 Close of ballot at 5.00pm on Tuesday 4th November <strong>20</strong>14 Count after 5.00pm on Tuesday 4th November <strong>20</strong>14. Strategic Context In 10 years, <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> and the City Centre have come a long way, we have weathered the recession better than many City Centres but we could be doing better, and there are still significant challenges and opportunities ahead. The greatest short term opportunity is to put <strong>Lincoln</strong> firmly on the tourist map on the back of the £<strong>20</strong> million investment that has been made in <strong>Lincoln</strong> Castle. Visitors to the City are universally pleased and surprised by their visit “I didn’t realise that <strong>Lincoln</strong> was so nice” and “there’s so much here!” are comments that we receive in the Visitor Information Centre time after time which is great as it means that people are enjoying their experience here, at the same time the image that people arrive with is of <strong>Lincoln</strong> as a small provincial town – this is what we need to change. We therefore hope that our foresight to establish the Visit <strong>Lincoln</strong> Partnership will really start to bear fruit over the next five years. The growing importance of education to the City is undeniable – there is continuing investment by the University of <strong>Lincoln</strong>, Bishop Grosseteste University and <strong>Lincoln</strong> College as well as a new City Centre university technical school. It is important to recognise within the context of this competitive educational environment the role that attractiveness of the City Centre, safety, security and ambience all play their part in attracting students to the City. Some major physical changes are also planned over the next five years, with the southern part of the City Centre set to be transformed with a new east west link road, two new railway footbridges, further pedestrianisation and a new transport interchange. <strong>Lincoln</strong> is also growing as a retail destination and our brand offer is set to receive a boost with new names such as H&M and Joules opening in the City as well as the decision by Next to reopen in the City Centre. We need to capitalise on this but at the same time make sure that we are emphasising <strong>Lincoln</strong>’s superb independent retail offer. During the last 10 years we have invested more than £12 million on improving the City Centre. This doesn’t mean that the City Centre is perfect – we still have challenges, not least access and parking in a historic city such as <strong>Lincoln</strong>. <strong>Lincoln</strong> is however a better place – we have been able to adapt more quickly to the changes and opportunities that have come our way and we have continued to work in partnership to create a great City Centre. We want to continue to invest and to keep <strong>Lincoln</strong> moving forward but we can only do this with the continued support of City Centre businesses. 2 <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>BIG</strong> <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong><strong>20</strong>15</strong>-<strong>20</strong> www.lincoln<strong>BIG</strong>.co.uk 01522 545233 3