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CITY SESSION
The next City Session will be held at O’Neills, St Nicholas Street on Friday 18th January at 8am, where we will be covering several topics such as the 2018 year review and a CityNet update.
You can book your place at the City Session here.
In the meantime, we would like to invite our BID members to join our closed Facebook group, ‘Worcester BID City Sessions’, where we provide often reminders and updates of our ongoing projects and news within the city, ultimately helping you to get the most out of your membership!
An exciting CityNet update…
For those of you that don’t know, CityNet is Worcester BID’s Business Crime Reduction Partnership which includes members from over 150 businesses. It is an intelligence led approach to managing city centre crime through varying schemes and a shared radio network.
Previously, CityNet was focused on the day-time economy whilst the night-time economy was overseen by NightSafe. However, as of 2019 we are happy to announce that CityNet will now look after both of these sectors.
In light of this, we have arranged a CityNet introductory meeting for the night-time economy. This meeting will be a wonderful opportunity for businesses to meet the Worcester BID team, listen to what we have planned for 2019 and feedback any projects or schemes you would like to see from us going forward.
This meeting will be held at the Guildhall, High Street on Tuesday 12th February from 4-6pm.
You can book your place at the meeting here.
On top of this, we are introducing a new and improved website and smartphone app which is available to ALL members. This CityNet software will allow you to report minor incidents to directly the Police, browse prolific offenders and keep up to date with the latest news and events.
Every single CityNet member is entitled to this service, so please contact info@worcesterbid.com to arrange getting you set up.
Are you, or do you employ, an EU Citizen?
On Friday 18th January Robin Walker, Worcester MP and Brexit Minister, will be hosting an information evening for Worcester’s EU citizens, during which he will provide a briefing covering rights after Brexit, the Settled Status scheme and other common queries, followed by an open question and answer session. This is a great opportunity to put your questions forward to Robin Walker as our cities MP and a Government Minister for Brexit.
The event starts at 6pm and will be held at the Guildhall, Worcester.
If you would like to attend please RSVP to tom.cole@parliament.uk.
Worcester high street has bucked national trends, boasting increased footfall when most cities have faced a significant decline.
Worcester enjoyed a rise of 0.3% compared to last year, while cities across the country saw visitor numbers drop by -3.2% on average.
Visitors number peaked at nearly 2.4million during December, thanks to Worcester BID’s popular ‘Christmas in Worcester’ campaign, delivered in conjunction with partners Crowngate Shopping Centre, Cathedral Square and Worcester City Council.
This festive campaign and other popular initiatives, such as late-night shopping and free and discounted parking, combined with a high-profile marketing campaign, enticed visitors from both near and far.
Phoebe Dawson, Chief Executive of Worcester BID, said: “I’m thrilled that Worcester continues to defy the downward spiral that other high streets are sadly facing.
“It’s undeniably a challenging time for businesses and consumers alike, but everyone is pulling together to come up with creative ways to ensure Worcester is an attractive place to visit and shop, and Worcester BID is delighted to support our hardworking traders.
“A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to market the city and its businesses both locally and nationally, and while we instinctively felt that the high street was flourishing, it’s incredibly rewarding to see these efforts reflected in the independent statistics.”
Much of the city’s recent success can be attributed to the excellent working relationship between Worcester BID and its major partners, Crowngate Shopping Centre, Cathedral Square and Worcester City Council.
BID’s ‘Christmas in Worcester’ campaign was an unprecedented triumph and its major marketing campaign, which included a pull out in The Times newspaper, was a strategic success.
For all press enquiries, please contact:
Phoebe Dawson, CEO
phoebe.dawson@worcesterbid.com
07878 083 496
It has been an eventful but rewarding year for Worcester BID. The city has seen some remarkable events and developments throughout 2018 and we are thrilled to be at the heart of it all. The Worcester BID team have been working hard alongside several partners to ensure Worcester remains a safe, thriving and welcoming city through various projects and schemes. We thought we’d round off the year with some our highlights….
Great British High Street
Following our successful joint application, we were thrilled to be invited to London and formally recognised as one of top High Streets in GB. From 200 applications for the Great British High Street Awards, Worcester was one of the top 13 finalists.
The Social
We launched and produced 4 issues of the Worc Social. This lifestyle magazine which has featured 136 different BID businesses over the last twelve months is distributed to thousands of homes and businesses, as well as further afield via social media.
The Food Festival
We once again organised the Worc Food Fest and this year saw a huge 38,115 increase in footfall from the same event in 2017.
Visit Worcester
Working in partnership with the city council we launched the Visit Worcester website which now features almost 100 businesses. As part of this partnership, Worcester BID is responsible for the Visit Worcester social media channels and over the last nine months we have seen enormous increases in engagement and followers. Visit Worcester’s Instagram has increased from under 1000 followers to 1530, Facebook now has 2,100 followers compared to 1,200 this time last year, and twitter has increased from under 3,000 to 4,200. Besides this, Instagram takeovers are now reaching an average of between 3,000 and 4,000 views per business and Facebook engagement per month has increased from 293, to 1,500.
Worcester BID Awards
The Worcester BID Customer Service Assessments were relaunched alongside the inaugural BID Awards, which collectively featured 60 businesses.
Little Book of Independents
We created Worcesters ‘Little Book of Independents’, a guide to Worcester BID’s independent businesses which was distributed throughout the Victorian Fayre and across the city. We will continue to distribute to parties we meet arriving by coach and train over the next twelve months.
CityNet
CityNet, our Business Crime Reduction Partnership now has an enhanced offer which includes an interactive app for our members. This has seen our safer city community grow considerably with over 130 members.
Worcester Cares
Worcester BID, partnership with different agencies launched the Worcester Cares initiative, a text donation service where specific donations are split between the different organisations caring for the homeless in the city.
Lobbying and Business Representation
We represented businesses interests during various happenings throughout the year, including the heavy snow periods, the Severn Trent work on The Shambles and the EDL march.
Footfall
The number of businesses receiving out footfall data grew this year by an exceptional 514%!
Cost-saving
We launched our cost savings initiative with Meercat Associates and other partners. This scheme can save businesses money on several bills including utilities and insurance. 66 businesses are currently in talks to make the most of this offer!
So what is to come?
Worcester BID are excited for the year ahead. We will be bringing Nightsafe under the CityNet umbrella and launching Worcester’s Best Bar None scheme. We will also be rolling out the CityNet app to every single CityNet member.
We’re also excited to announce that Worcester BID will be complimenting Visit Worcester’s social media campaigns by introducing changeable flags across the cities lampposts promoting the cities seasons and events.
These are just a few of the exciting projects Worcester BID will launch in the new year. Alongside this, we will continue to build on 2018’s projects, reaching a much larger audience and having greater positive impact on the city.
All of these projects are available to every single Worcester BID member so please get in contact with the Worcester BID team if any of these interests you!
The team at Worcester BID would like to thank you again for your passion, support and hard work this year and wish you all a Merry Christmas. We can’t wait to work with you again in the new year!
The next City Session will be held on 18th January at 8am at O’Neills Worcester, St Nicholas Street. We will be covering many important topics such as a 2018 year review and a CityNet update.
In the meantime, we would like to invite our BID members to join our closed Facebook group, ‘Worcester BID City Sessions‘, where we provide often reminders and updates of our ongoing projects and news within the city, ultimately helping you to get the most out of your membership!
Please note that this Facebook group is exclusive to BID members and you will be required to state which business you represent upon joining.
Worcester BID are producing a wall planner for 2019, which will set the dates for most of the cities events and national holidays, and all of our City Sessions. These will be delivered to your door at the beginning of January, so don’t go buying one before then!
Alongside this, we are producing a ‘Welcome Pack‘ which will outline all of the services provided by Worcester BID, making sure you don’t miss out on any of the wonderful opportunities we have to offer!
Both of these exciting publications will be delivered at the beginning of January, so keep your eyes peeled in the New Year!
Take advantage of a FREE health check on a wide range of business bills by cost savings specialists Meercat Associates – a simple process, no hassle, no obligation and no cost to you.
Sectors include: Gas, Electricity, Mobiles, Landlines, Broadband, Insurance, Health & Safety, PAT Testing, Pest Control and Card Payment machines.
In addition we have sourced some local deals exclusively for Worcester BID members on local Advertising, Print and Design and promotional material.
Take a look at further details of cost savings opportunities here.
Contact the team on info@worcesterbid.com or 01905 731612 for more details and to register for this service.
Museums Worcestershire (a partnership between Worcester City and Worcestershire County Council) is inviting proposals at this stage, for a catering concession at the Balcony Café at Worcester Art Gallery and Museum.
The Art Gallery and Museum is housed in a historic building on Foregate Street in a busy and thriving area of the city. The gallery runs a lively programme of contemporary exhibitions, events and workshops attracting an audience of over 60,000 visitors per year. The gallery spaces are light, bright and welcoming and all areas of the building are fully accessible. The Balcony Café serves as both a tranquil refuge from the hustle and bustle of Foregate Street and a great place to meet friends and family.
To view the tender document please click here. Proposals must be received by the Museums Business Manager at the Art Gallery and Museum, Foregate Street, Worcester WR1 1DT by 4.00pm on 2nd January, 2019.
Did you know that you may be able to access Superfast Broadband?
Superfast Worcestershire would like to connect as many businesses and people as possible and it has never been easier!
You can use BT’s speed checker to see if you have a live service. But don’t forget you will need to upgrade to upgrade to a superfast package to take advantage of the infrastructure upgrades.
If you are not yet able to receive a superfast service, please register here.
Businesses and communities can also consider the Gigabit Voucher scheme which contributes to the installation cost of a gigabit-capable connection. Businesses can claim up to £2,500 against the cost of connection either individually or as part of a group project. For more information about the scheme, contact the team on superfast@worcestershire.gov.uk
For further details on this scheme, click here.
Media release – 19/10/2016
A business run by two sisters in Reindeer Court is set to be in the national spotlight tomorrow (Friday) as they celebrate being voted one of the top 100 small businesses in the UK.
Embrace, a lingerie shop run by sisters Lisa Farrington-Martin & Paula Farrington has been named by Small Business Saturday UK as exemplar in the way they operate as an independent and will be showcased as such when they have their turn to celebrate SmallBiz100 day. Each of the 100 businesses chosen across the UK is spotlighted each day for 100 days up until Small Business Saturday on December 3rd.
As part of the celebrations they will be holding a ‘Fitting & Fizz’ day with Vicki Owen from Wacoal from 10am – 3pm and there will be 10% off all full priced lingerie or swimwear products purchased on the day!
The business is already used to accolades having scooped the prestigious Stars Underlines Best Shop Awards Winners in the Special Care Recognition Category last year and are already finalists ahead of this year’s announcement next month. They won the Customer Service Award for best independent retailer from Worcester BID earlier this year. They have also benefitted from grants from Worcester City Council along the way which have been described as ‘invaluable’.
Paula explained ‘we are delighted to have been recognised as one of the top 100 small businesses in the UK and we are keen to show people what we are all about. Tomorrow’s showcase provides us with an opportunity to highlight the business and also do our bit for promoting independent businesses in Reindeer Court and Worcester city centre itself.’
Head of Worcester BID, Adrian Field added ‘Embrace is a great example of how to run an independent business and we are delighted for them to have been selected for such an accolade as they fully deserve it.’
Lisa added ‘We encourage customers new and old to come along and enjoy some fizz while we fit you with some fabulous new lingerie!’
Places will be limited and bookings can be made by calling 01905 619031.
ENDS
To contact Embrace for further quotes or to arrange an interview please contact:
Lisa Farrington-Martin & Paula Farrington
23 Reindeer Court, Worcester, WR1 2DS
Tel: 01905 619031
Twitter: @connect_embrace
Facebook: facebook.com/embraceworcester
Awards that the business has won:
2014 Stars Underlines Best Shop Awards Finalists
2014 Worcester Customer Service Awards Highly Commended
2015 Awarded the Anita Centre of Excellence Certificate
2015 Stars Underlines Best Shop Awards Winners in the Special Care Recognition Category
2016 Worcester Customer Service Awards Winners in the Independent Retail Sector
2016 Announced as one of the Top 100 UK Small Businesses for Small Business Saturday
2016 Stars Underlines Best Shop Awards Finalists (final in Nov 2016)
Grants:
Worcester City Business Start up Grant
Worcester City Council Business Growth Grant
A brand new campaign which aims to promote fashion, health and wellbeing in Worcester’s businesses is set to be launched with members of the public able to sample a huge variety of themed activities. The new ‘Aspire Worcester’ campaign coordinated by the Worcester Business Improvement District (BID) will encompass a plethora of quality fashion and wellbeing themed products, services and activities within Worcester’s independently owned businesses and big High Street names from this Thursday (8th) to Sunday 11th September. Among the activities taking place, locals and visitors can indulge in a beauty makeover, enjoy a relaxing hand massage, make their own bath bombs or join an exclusive night of pampering and fizz. Free wellbeing themed activities include laughter yoga and tai chi sessions, lunchtime de-stressers and relaxation sessions. There are also family friendly bounce and rhyme sessions available, plus CV and interview advice and a dedicated home and lifestyle event to look at the entire family’s wellbeing in a wider picture. The latest style and designer trends can be discovered at four exciting fashion shows being organised by House of Fraser, Stripes, Topshop/Topman, and Sophie Wynne-Owen as well as selected partners. Healthier choices food and drink sampling and mocktail making are also on the menu in a bid to encourage a healthier lifestyle. City centre visitors can also benefit from free health MOTs, step tests, running gait analysis or guided health walks. For those feeling energetic there will also be a climbing wall being run by the Army Careers Service, the opportunity to try a judo class, and to climb the Cathedral Tower. A variety of free activities and workshops are available themed around outfit building, how to build a capsule wardrobe, take a body shape analysis and learn how to style a stole. There is also the chance to enter the vintage hair stylist experience competition and join a fittings and fizz session. Nadja von Dahlen, Worcester BID Marketing and Events Manager, said “The new Aspire Worcester campaign is a great opportunity for locals and visitors to sample and embrace the great mix of fashion, beauty, health and wellbeing themed offers and activities within our city centre businesses. The majority of events are also free to attend. Worcester city centre offers a vibrant shopping experience with an exceptional selection of independent shops and boutiques, major retailers and service providers who are involved in fashion, health and wellbeing, and so we wanted to celebrate this. The campaign with its associated events is a bit different to the Foodie and Motor Festivals that we organise in that it is the businesses who are laying on the activities in-store”. Pervin Chaudhury, Deputy Sales Manager at House of Fraser added “We couldn’t not get involved in the Worcester BID’s Aspire event and campaign, as it provides us with an opportunity to showcase what House of Fraser can offer in terms of fashion, health and wellbeing to our existing as well as new customers. We have activities taking place on all 4 days which we think people will love to experience.” The Aspire Worcester events and activities will be taking place within Worcester city centre businesses from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th September. Further details are available on www.aspireworcester.com, on twitter @AspireWorcester or at www.facebook.com/aspireworcester Published 06/09/2016ALL YOU NEED TO FEEL GOOD AND LOOK GOOD
