Stockport BID Proposal 2016

Stockport BID
Business Improvement District
Proposal 2016
Presented by

Why a BID?
Various options were looked at
and Business Improvement
Districts (BIDs) was thought to
be the strongest and fairest
way of bringing about a self-
funded organisation for
Stockport and the idea
warranted further exploration.
The Background
Since the middle of last year,
time has been spent on
looking at the financial
modelling of a BID, its initial
feasibility and identifying the
resources the project will
require.

Next Steps
The next steps are to
continue talking to
retailers and landlords
about the idea and to
start the consultation of
all businesses in Stockport
Town Centre in earnest.
The Background
Questions?
The FAQs sheet will
introduce you to what a
Business Improvement
District is and what it
could do for Stockport,
but here is some general
information.

In order to increase footfall,
dwell time and spend in
Stockport town centre, the
general indications point to the
following changes required:
Why a BID for Stockport?
• Improvements in the general
environment
• Better promotion of hidden
gems, tourist attractions,
heritage and historical quarters
• Reduction in empty shops
• More regular high quality
events
• Better marketing & promotion
• A linked up town with ‘one
voice’
• Better way finding, such as
maps and signposts
• Easy to access car parking with
more flexible charging
…. all projects often delivered
well by BIDs elsewhere.

General comments indicate
that businesses are interested
in improving the marketing and
promotion of the town.
Why a BID for Stockport?
This could be achieved by
providing a safer and improved
evening economy with more
options available to visitors,
supported by regular events.
There’s also demand for more
attractive green spaces in the
centre.
Extra value added services
could be procured which could
bring savings for businesses on
waste, recycling and utility
costs.

A ‘BID Study Area’
has been plotted to
help with initial
consultation and fact
finding.
Where is covered by the BID?
This is based on the
retail core of the
existing town centre.
This area is one of
the first things which
will be consulted
upon.

• The standard levy is 1% - 2% on
the rateable value of each
business in the BID area.
• An average independent
business could pay in the
region of £260 a year and a
large national chain could pay
around £1,500. All businesses
should look at their individual
rates bill or visit the VOA
website to get an accurate idea
for their property.
• This could bring a BID Company
anywhere between £75k and
£200k depending on
thresholds and exemptions.
How much could
it cost me?
However, it is up to Stockport
Businesses to decide who should
be in and how much it should
cost!

This is an affordable BID. For most
businesses in Stockport, their
contribution will be equivalent to, or
in most cases, less than the price of a
daily cup of coffee.
How much could
it cost me?
Rateable Value Annual Cost @ 1% Weekly Cost Daily Cost
< £3,000 Nil Nil Nil
£3,000 £30 58p 8p
£5,000 £50 96p 14p
£8,000 £80 £1.54 22p
£10,000 £100 £1.92 27p
£15,000 £150 £2.88 41p
£25,000 £250 £4.81 69p
£30,000 £300 £5.77 82p
£50,000 £500 £9.62 £1.37
£75,000 £750 £14.42 £2.06
£100,000 £1,000 £19.23 £2.75
£1,000,000 £10,000 £192.31 £27.47

In other towns BID projects fall
into 4 main areas:
1. Promotion & marketing of
the town
2. Cleaner & safer
3. Supporting existing and new
businesses
4. Access & parking i.e. car
parking promotions and town
maps / guides
What could a BID do
for Stockport?
It could cost up to £50k to prepare
and implement the BID.
This is covered by either a loan
from British BIDs or with
assistance from Stockport Council.

Proposals in other towns have included
services to businesses which bring their
costs down. For example, group buying
for electricity and recycling schemes. If
done well, the savings can outweigh the
costs of being part of the BID. This is
something we will investigate to see if
savings could be realised for Stockport
businesses.
What could a BID do
for Stockport?
Often BID’s employ a BID manager to
concentrate on delivering the projects
identified in the business plan created
and voted upon. Sometimes BID’s
employ experts to help with the
promotion, cleaning or security of the
town.
However, it is up to Stockport
Businesses to decide what a BID
should do for them!

It’s going to take a bit of
time to pull everyone’s
ideas and comments
together…
What Happens Next?
The feedback we are
seeking over the next 12
months will come together
to create a firm proposal
that can be out to a
democratic vote in October
2016
If all is agreed a BID levy is
expected to come into
being in March 2017.

The first stage is to start
talking to all the businesses
in the BID study area.
Consultation
We plan to talk to
businesses in three stages:
1) What would you like to
improve in Stockport ?
(Spring 2016)
2) Project ideas & budgets
(Summer 2016)
3) Draft proposal &
business plan (Late Summer
2016)
An idea is to create an
online survey to help start
collecting views. The Town
Centre Team can also visit
and call in on businesses to
find out their views.

We are looking for
business people, likely
to be based within
the BID area, to help
us drive this project.
Get involved…
It is the businesses
that ultimately decide
what a BID would do
in Stockport, so it is
only right that a group
of businesses is
created to work out
what that might be.

Get involved…
If you are interested
in becoming more
involved in the
project group, please
contact us at Vision
Stockport.
Soon information will
Soon information will
be available about
what this group will
do, how often it will
meet etc.

If you require further
information or have any
queries relating to the
content of this proposal
please click this link and
Get In Touch:
Find out more…
http://visionstockport.org/GetInTouch/