Hinckley BID 4 Re-Vote

Dear BID Member,

You will by now have been advised that as a BID member you will be asked to vote on our fourth 5-year BID term – and the Ballot Voting Paper should reach you by October 16th.

The attached BID Business Plan explains not only the extensive free services that the BID provides to our members now, but having listened to your comments also what we have planned going forward.

When Hinckley BID was first elected in 2008, there were 73 BIDs representing towns in the UK, there are now 325 in operation. Hinckley was the first in Leicestershire, and other towns swiftly followed when they saw what benefits Hinckley BID brought to the businesses and the town in general. BIDs were established in Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicester City centre and all have been re-elected for another Term. A BID is currently being considered for the Oadby/Wigston area and we have also been advised that March will see the start of a BID for Nuneaton.

Hinckley BID has managed to keep the BID levy at 1.95% of the rateable value since year 1. Although we are relatively small, by doing most of the work in-house we put on more footfall enhancing events than most other towns in the UK. We represent and promote each of our BID members through our highly effective website, and by our constant promotion of their services and special offers through targeted social media. Our Loyalty card alone has now reached 11,150 holders.

We have some 405 Hinckley BID member businesses, and this includes the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. As you will see from the attached document, our Board of Directors represents most commercial sectors of Hinckley – each one is unremunerated and also brings to our regular meetings any concerns and suggestions from BID members.

At the BID we represent you – our BID Member – and are always available to you if we can help in any way as our skill base and commercial experience covers a wide range of problem solutions. The Council include us in their Working Groups which meet regularly and this provides us with the opportunity to put our BID members views forward.

Finally we are delighted to report that, thanks to our providing the ongoing free DISC anti-shoplifting initiative, the Police have made many more arrests recently and recovered a large number of stolen goods. ‘DISC’, working alongside the Retail Radio scheme which the BID also finances, will continue to do much to deter shoplifters as the membership grows.

We do hope that the attached document will demonstrate why Hinckley BID is an essential resource to our town centre businesses, and if you agree please Vote for us when your voting paper comes through – I promise you that with your support and the investment that the Council are currently planning we will continue to keep Hinckley ahead of other local towns.

Sincerely, and on behalf of the BID Team,

Steve Wegerif
BID Manager & HTCP Director