Weston Business Improvement District – BID

Working together to make Weston a great place in which to work, live and visit.

The Weston Business Improvement District (BID) has been in operation since 2012 and is delivered through Weston Town Centre Partnership Ltd, which is a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee, set up in 1998.

The BID area covers Weston Town Centre and works with c. 400 Voting Levy Payers.

Businesses with a rateable value of £7,500 and over within the defined area pay, 1.5% levy based on their rateable value.

Weston town centre businesses voted in favour to renew the BID in 2016 and 2021 and BID3 will run until March 2027.

Weston BID works in close partnership with North Somerset Council and Weston Town Council.

The Operational Team

Paul Batts – Chairperson Weston BID

Darren Fairchild – Town Centre/BID Manager

Beverley Tucker – Assistant Town Centre Manager

The Operational team is supported by a voluntary Board of Directors and a BID Steering Group.

Get In Touch

Address: 32 Waterloo Street, Weston-super-Mare BS23 1LW

Street Wardens – 07725 839234

Darren Fairchild, Town Centre Partnership & BID – 07845 736840 or darren.fairchild@wsmtcp.co.uk

Beverley Tucker, Town Centre Partnership, BID & Highways – 07776 170229 or beverley.tucker@n-somerset.gov.uk

Year 4 BID Achievements

Weston BID maintained its core commitment to safety and visibility in the town centre throughout Year 4. The street wardens continued to operate 364 days a year, offering daily support and reassurance to businesses and the public. Alongside this, targeted marketing, business support, and partnership-led events helped sustain town centre vibrancy through another challenging year.

Download Year 4 Achievements Report here

Projects

Street Wardens – Patrolling the BID area 7 days per week, 364 days a year. Tackling crime, anti-social behaviour, reducing stock loss and assisting businesses wherever we can.

DISC – provision of bespoke crime database where incidents are loaded to a central system.

Provision, maintenance and watering of floral displays.

Marketing and Events

Marketing and PR activity has increased as a result of us working in partnership with SuperWeston, the placemaking agency for Weston. As a result we have benefited from TV and radio coverage featuring our businesses.

The Marketing Strategy implemented by SuperWeston, with funding from BID, has created campaigns that have increased footfall.

Footfall

We have five sensors that allow us to gather anonymised data to provide unique visitor counts in key locations within the town.

Our placemaking teams can access the data to gather insights on visitor behaviour, identifying areas of high and low footfall providing quantitative insights for future activities, development and support funding bids.

Weston Business Crime Reduction Initiative (WBCRI)

WBCRI Radio link scheme is managed by Weston Town Centre Partnership, and currently has schemes running in Weston-super-Mare, Nailsea, Portishead & Clevedon.

The scheme provides local business (day & night) with a handheld digital radio, with permanent talk through capability. This means that members can communicate with each other, Street Wardens (Weston), the CCTV Control Room, and Police. Information regarding crime, disturbances, and nuisances are transmitted, and members can also use the scheme to request assistance from others.

Weston Town Centre Partnership also administers the incident recording database, co-ordinates intelligence sharing meetings and provides training and support. The cost to join the initiative and rent a handset is £9.00 per week

Business Support

Business cost reduction initiatives saving our levy payers money by facilitating the switch to cost effective commercial waste services or energy providers.

Social Media

Promotion of Weston levy paying businesses via social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram as well as Noticeboards, attendance of event and in person consultation.