BIDS think tank report

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Editor, NLQ and New London Weekly

BIDs ponder ‘reset’ and new central London coalition

London’s BIDs should take the opportunity of their upcoming 20th birthday to undergo a ‘reset’ and perhaps join forces into a central London coalition in a bid to get more recognition from central government for the work they do across the capital. That was one of the key points to emerge from an NLA Think Tank on BIDs as they move from being a ‘teenager’ following their introduction in the UK, accelerated when a select group brought back key lessons from a New York study group.

Pat Brown, who led that work and trip, said that a connected approach to movement and transport would be ‘absolutely fundamental’ to the success of London after this pandemic, and that the BIDs could have a key role to play there, acting together strategically with local authorities.

Describing herself as the ‘midwife’ of the London BID, Central director Brown said there was sometimes a lack of understanding about what BIDs can achieve, and that they can be ‘patchy’, but there was perhaps a lack of ambition due to a ‘watering down’.

‘Actually there is an opportunity to renew our vows of what this could achieve’, Brown said, ‘and how the public and the private sector could be working together to do the best possible thing through this amazing partnership mechanism.’

London’s position now means that there is a need to look at transport again in a strategic way, she added, including new ways of movement, creating a London that is a ‘comfortable, walkable, “sittable” experience’ but still allows it to function as an economy is ‘absolutely fundamental to its success’. ‘The BIDs looking at that strategically and together would be my way to go.’

Ruth Duston said attracting and retaining talent, too will be important alongside a diversity and inclusivity agenda but that the BIDs need to make a commitment to work together to work in a more strategic and collaborative way, perhaps beginning with the central London BIDs. ‘We definitely need to think about how we can work better together in a more collaborative way’, she said.

Nic Durston, Chief Executive, South Bank Employers’ Group, and Chair, British BIDs Advisory Board, agreed, pointing to a ‘thread’ of what a central London BID coalition could look like, coupled with a ‘willingness’ from the GLA to work on that. ‘it's certainly a conversation I think we should have, because there's willingness there…post-COVID probably presents us with an opportunity to do it’.

Other speakers at the event included New West End Company’s Jace Tyrell on the pace of re-opening having benefited from previous occasions, and the potential legacies of more al fresco dining, although key questions remain about the return of offices, he said. ‘One of the big fundamentals we're facing is how do we get Londoners to fall back in love with the centre?’ It was time to think about ‘getting to the next level’, he added, with BIDs leaving their teenage years behind. Was it time to reset the relationship with local authorities and perhaps gain more powers? ‘I think now is the time to think some of these big questions structurally around the evolution of BIDs and how they can best deliver on the strategic priorities of the capital and of the government and local authorities’.

Acting CEO of London and Partners Alan Simpson said a campaign has been designed to bring people into London from elsewhere in the UK. ‘It’s a campaign for London, not necessarily to London’, he said. And Arup’s Matt Dillon spoke about various polls on future office worker behaviour that Arup has collated for the GLA that indicates people will return to office work around two to four days per week for a typical five day week going forward, probably bunched around the middle of the week given the ‘laboratory’ of Australia and New Zealand experiences.

HOLBA’s Ros Morgan suggested that the BID levy being considered a non-essential spend had been a ‘hard pill to swallow’ for cash flow forecasts, but that with each lockdown reopening the value of BIDs ‘really came to the forefront’. Government realised it needed conversations with businesses but lacked the ability to do so, turning to BIDs as their mechanism and the levy being ‘essential’ once more. In areas with large, open democratic institutions that had had to close, like the South Bank, the BID had also played a key role in ‘looking after the place’, said Durston as ‘reassuring presence’ in a previously tourist-dominated place.

BIDs should also look more at collecting data, too, said Primera’s Ruth Duston, alongside the activation and animation of space.

‘But I think the key for us is to come together more strategically’, Duston said. ‘The big challenge is around central government and that recognition in terms of the role business improvement districts can play, and the role business improvement districts can make. We’ve got 57 BIDS across London; there is significant investment being made in central London by the private sector and there is very little recognition at a civic governance level for business improvement districts. I feel that’s a huge challenge, but equally presents an opportunity. And perhaps that’s something that we should be tackling together, collaboratively’.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

David Taylor

Editor, NLQ and New London Weekly

BIDs ponder ‘reset’ and new central London coalition

Related

Stay in touch

Upgrade your plan

Choose the right membership for your business