On Thursday 2nd May Chippenham BID offered all its levy-paying businesses the opportunity to find out what could be possible for the next 5 years in Chippenham town centre with an expo featuring some of the leading suppliers in the Place Management arena.
Chippenham BID Manager, Kathryn Crosweller said, “The biggest challenge is often that ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ – the expo was a chance for BID businesses to understand what opportunities there are for a town like Chippenham, and we were absolutely thrilled to have so many industry experts donate their time for this event.”
Of the 13 exhibitors present, 6 currently work with Chippenham BID. From cost reduction specialists Meercat Associates to free town Wi-Fi providers Elephant Wi-Fi, levy payers were able to feed back on current projects as well as find out more about potential projects. These included window dressing experts Made You Look, who help businesses make the most of their on-street presence and cleaning specialists Community Clean who can offer everything from public space cleaning to cleaning of each business’s premises which would be subsidised by Chippenham BID.
Antony Bulley, Chair of Chippenham BID’s Board of Directors and Managing Director of Strakers Estate Agents said, “The first BID term has had some brilliant successes, and with the experience of 5 years working in Chippenham there is a golden opportunity here for a 2nd BID term to offer Chippenham a new lease of life by supporting businesses and giving residents and visitors more reasons to come into town.”
Other exhibitors who attended included Maybe* who provide social media insights for both individual businesses and the town centre overall and National Business Crime Solution who coordinate data sharing between businesses, CCTV operators and the police. The most popular exhibit of the day proved to be LoyalFree, a multi-award-winning dynamic place app that promotes business offers, loyalty schemes, local events, tourism information, competitions and interactive trails – all in one place.
BID terms last 5 years and they are able to be renewed by another vote made by the businesses who would pay the BID levy should the BID be successful. Chippenham BID’s renewal ballot will begin on 26th September 2019, and the result will be announced on 25th October 2019.