Over the course of Term 1 you’ll have seen evidence of the BID’s work to improve the appearance of the BID Area. This has included the introduction of 3 new pieces of street art, 7 trees planted, 16 planters introduced across Queensway, the East End of High Street and Bedford Street, 156 brightly coloured banners,102 flip flop catenary decorations and a total of 750 metres of festoon lighting at Old Town, Bedford Street, Station Square, York Road and Gloucester Road. Accessing the government’s Welcome Back Fund, the BID also replaced the previously faded poster sites along the seafront with brightly coloured directional maps, guiding and encouraging footfall into the different “zones” across the BID Area.
Graffiti is a real pain in any town, and even though it’s not your fault, it’s your business’s responsibility and cost to remove any that appears on your premises. However, over the first term, the BID has funded the Town Council’s Town Force Team to remove graffiti from levy paying businesses across the town centre.
By themselves, none of these apparently small improvements will dramatically change the appearance of the town as a whole. But as they’ve built up over time as the budget has allowed, the overall effect has been to create a sense of unity across the whole of the BID Area, with a consistent “look and feel” in terms of colours, design and quality connecting the different areas. This is going to be supercharged with the introduction of the proposed Wayfinding Scheme the BID is working on as part of a multi-agency project, with a funding application for delivery submitted to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in December 2022.
The new festoon lighting at multiple locations not only improves the look of the areas at night, but also plays a key role in making people feel safer. What’s really important to note is that, once installation has taken place, the BID has an ongoing commitment to maintain, supply and insurance the lighting it’s introduced, and this has to be factored into the budget as a recurring cost. At present, the financial commitments to keeping the existing lights shining at York Road, Old Town, Station Square and Bedford plus – subject to the outcome of the vote and permissions - new installations at Queensway and West Street – is in the region of £10k per annum.
In Term 2, the BID is committing to:
Ongoing funding to keep the existing festoon lighting maintained, supplied with electricity and insured, plus new installations where possible.
Design, production and installation costs for 1 x seasonal banner change: London Road & High Street, plus new installations where possible
Professional fully funded graffiti removal service for levy paying business premises
As part of its “Transforming Town” objective, the BID will continue its active partnership role in the delivery of the Wayfinding Strategy for Bognor Regis
WANT MORE DETAILS?
You can read and download the full BID Term 2 Proposal and other documents at: https://www.brbid.org/term2
You can read and download the BR BID’s Business Plan as an e-newsletter at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/67465795
CONTACT US
You can contact us at any time with any questions about the ballot or the business plan:
Bognor Regis BID: 10 The Arcade, Bognor Regis PO21 1LH
Email Heather Allen, BR BID Co-Ordinator: heather@brbid.org
Visit our website: www.brbid.org
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