Bath BID Awards 2019

CLEAN.

This category was judged by Jon Raby, Roland Russell, the Education & Enforcement Officer, and Guy Henderson of SouthGate & Bath BID Board member. This category is to recognise those businesses in the city that have made significant improvements in the management of their waste to the benefit of all.

The nominees are:
o Interaction – They have improved their own management of trade waste and have taken the initiative to educate and encourage their neighbouring businesses.
o The Boater for the turnaround in their waste management, the much appreciated improvement in their street and for their encouragement of others in the neighbourhood to do the same
o Joint nomination for Vino Vino, The Oven, Amarone, Raphael’s and Zero Zero. This team now takes its waste responsibilities seriously and has transformed into a forward thinking, leading team.
Without a doubt, all three nominations have been excellent in the efforts and achievements on the CLEAN front over the past 12 months and this category was perhaps the most hotly contested.
The winning business has improved their own trade waste management and that of others, taking the initiative to educate and encourage their neighbouring. Before bins were open, left on the highway at the wrong times and not put away, waste was being left randomly the bin area was unclean. This caused a detrimental effect to the area – smells, gulls, vermin and rough sleeping between the bins. Now they are taking more care over the cleanliness of the area and being supported in this by the BID and B&NES. Fly tipping signs have been put up and fly tipping is regularly reported and been enforced.
The winner has worked with the trade waste contractor, SUEZ, with the support of the Bath BID and the Enforcement Officer to put in place practical solutions to waste collections. Now this area is managed much better by all these businesses. The area has been transformed and there is a significant community benefit to their endeavours. The winner is a credit to the area and an example to other traders. Their cooperation with the authorities and the BID is to be applauded.
The winner is THE BOATER

SAFE.

The judges for this category were Jenny Adams, Ranger, Paul Cox of Bath & District Crime Reduction Partnership and Tarquin Mcdonald of Bath Rugby and Bath BID Board.  This category is for businesses that demonstrate how their initiatives and collaborations help keep city workers and visitors safe.

The nominees were:
o SouthGate Centre. During the recent landscaping of Brunel Square, SouthGate has invested in ‘duck and cover’ Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) within their planning although few would realise this detail as the area is so nicely designed.
o Belushi’s have introduced a new ID Scan System that requires all guests, to provide a valid and in date form of Government Approved ID for entry. This acts as a deterrent to those using fake IDs and discourages underage drinking.
o Bath Spa University via the Student Community Partnership has collaborated across the city to address the major water safety issue and helped focus efforts needed to prevent fatalities.
o Bath Rugby takes their responsibilities to the city seriously. Of all businesses in the city, they stand out as a supporter of the counter terrorism initiatives (ACT). This is for current operations as well as planning for the new stadium.
o Nationwide Building Society has CPR trained employees to run monthly and bespoke training sessions in CPR to local businesses. Their aim is to train 1 person per business in Bath.
o Joint nomination for Moles, Mandalyns, Belushis, Century Casino, Circo who use new firm Midas Security. They have taken a serious focus on individuals walking home alone providing appropriate guidance to door staff who are probably the last to see someone before they head home.
The award for 2019 goes to an organisation that had gone well beyond their own businesses remit to address a health and safety concern in the city and the judges felt they should be publicly recognised for their generosity of spirit and time.
The winner is NATIONWIDE BUILDING SOCIETY

WELCOME.

This award was judged by the Welcome Ambassadors. This category is for businesses that create events that bring footfall to the city or those that use existing events to extend the experience of those that are visiting the city.

The nominees are:
o Abbott Lyon This nomination applauds Abbott Lyon for their experiment in linking the digital and the high street experience and welcoming the Instagram world into Bath.
o The Grapes @thebathlandlady has brought the Bath Twitterati along with her the renovation journey. As she’s done so, she’s promoted the good things going on in the city and you get the distinct impression that you are going to be made very welcome in this pub.
o Metro Bank for a) it’s fiesta-like entry into the city and b) for the facilities they offer the community in a way not normally seen in banking – free toilet and baby changing, free coin counters and free meeting room.
o Cosy Club is nominated for its ‘Free Teas for Those in Need’ to help the battle to end loneliness in every generation. Those that need it pop along to The Cosy Club for a free cup of tea and a chat every Wednesday between 10am-11am.
o Mandalyns were nominated for three reasons; 1) they have the friendliest door staff in the city, 2) they have excellent floral displays in summer (as recognised by Bath in Bloom) and 3) they are the most inclusive of all night-time economy destinations.
o SouthGate for the major upgrade their public realm areas which has made the area even more appealing to visitors and increased dwell time.
o Tapas Revolution. Visitors tell us about the warm welcome at Tapas Revolution. As you wander down the street, there’s a friendly front of house member of staff there to greet you and he often has fantastic samples. This welcome is much appreciated.
o Milsom Place for remaining so welcoming in spite of the empty premises. Where others in the city leave properties in disarray, Milsom Place have kept the centre clean, well dressed and presented to a very high standard.
The winner has changed the face of Bath and made the city even more welcoming to visitors. Their aim was to enliven the space through a series of permanent and temporary interventions and this has come to fruition in an interesting and engaging way. It is fresh, modern and on-trend but reflects the history of Bath and the surrounding countryside. The winner has invested significantly in Bath and this shows as the standard of their offering is high, setting the bar high for other public initiatives in the city.
The winner is SOUTHGATE

SMART.

This has been judged by Mary Dy of Bath BID, Alina Marin of Movement Strategies and Gavin Thompson of Insider Media and Bath BID Board. This category is for companies that use data, analysis and technology most effectively to enhance their offer and business results. This is a tricky category. On one hand it should be the most objective as who can argue with the data. On the other, nominations are scarce as businesses keep their performance information to themselves.

The nominees are:
o Neals Yard Remedies closely analysed footfall data to help them determine whether it was worth investing in a Christmas Market stall during 2019. They have also in the past used BID footfall data in strategic negotiations.
o Chandos Deli are using the footfall data to improve their understanding of different opportunities in the city and their own strategic development.
o L’Occitane noticed a trend of increasing Chinese visitors to Bath/in-store and so employed a Chinese-speaking team member. They have also generated a multilingual product information book. They report that this has made a difference in their sales. Also the team used Bath BID footfall information to demonstrate their performance compared to other UK stores.
The winner of this category has used business intelligence from a number of sources to develop their business including BID footfall and internal footfall information. They have combined this with smart observations and conversations with their customer based. As a result of their efforts they were ranked 2nd out of 122 national stores and they were particularly commended by their management for the quality of data in their presentations.
The winner of the SMART category is L’OCCITANE

PROSPEROUS.

This category is for any initiative that has led to a significant improvement in business results or has helped others achieve success. This was judged by Charlotte Thursz, John Pearce of Mallory Jewellers and Chris Davies, both Bath BID Board members.

The nominees are:

Bath Aqua Glass: Walcot Street Traders Bath BID Champions last year and nominated again for their continued investment of time and energy in developing Walcot Street’s Artisan Quarter

Visit Bath: Bath Christmas Market This brings 400,000 visitors to the city, generating £24m economic benefit, £18.2m of which was spent in the city and £5.8m was spent in the market. In 2018 staying visitors increased by 4% and 71% were in the ABC1 category
Altran As sponsor of the Bath Digital Festival, their focus is developing digital talent. Bath & Bristol is now a known tech & creative hub and attracting and retaining digital talent in the region is a key economic priority and Altran’s nomination for a BID Award reflects this industry need.
Novia for good corporate citizenship. They are avid sponsors and supporters of many organisations in the city e.g. Bath Festival, Bath Boules, Bath City Football, have a long-standing partnership with Bath Rugby and their Foundation raises significant funds for charity.
Hay for its collaboration with others in the city. One example is the pop-up café outside their store during the Love Milsom Street Car Free Weekend.

The winners are a team that liaises extensively across the city, working sensitively and efficiently around the different challenges they face. Many of the obstacles are not of their own making. Their work impacts pretty much everyone in the city and the team gets a lot of feedback. They are open, listen hard, they communicate, they analyse the feedback and develop the product further each year, addressing the developing priorities. Overwhelmingly though, there is a positive impact across the city and for this we want to recognise the team.
The WINNER of the PROSPEROUS category is the BATH CHRISTMAS MARKET team of Visit Bath.