On Tuesday 6th April, we held our annual Bath BID Spring Meeting via Zoom. If you weren’t able to attend the event, you can watch it back here:

The meeting began with a warm welcome from Bath BID Chair David Hobdey. David announced the official launch of the third term of the Bath BID and thanked our Levy Payers for supporting us through the renewal process.

Bath BID Chief Executive, Allison Herbert, looked back over the organisation’s activity over the past year, and then forward to what we have planned for our third term.

Allison highlighted some of the BID’s key achievements over the past year (from 3:10), including:

  • 4,071 Ranger jobs completed, which was +28% vs the previous year.
  • 2,620 visitors helped by the Bath BID Welcome Ambassadors.
  • £41,000 worth of Bath Gift Cards purchased.
  • 33,698 sessions on the BID’s new Welcome to Bath website.

Allison gave a financial update (from 7:57) and explained that Levy Payers will have a 25% reduction on their levy bill for 2021–2022, which will be covered by the savings made during the lockdown, so service levels will remain the same or improved.

Allison introduced the BID’s priorities for the next five years (from 12:40), which include continuing our popular Ranger services and Welcome Ambassador scheme, our trade waste discount, city intelligence, and city promotion. We will be focusing on the further development of some services, such as the Welcome to Bath website and proactive solutions to improve the streetscape and tackle empty shops. We will also be introducing new projects, including Safe and Secure Bath, and free training and networking opportunities.

Next, Suzanne McCutcheon from Bath & North East Somerset Council offered guidance to businesses that are preparing to reopen (from 16:10). Key takeaways included:

  • Businesses should continue to display social distancing signs.
  • Staff are encouraged to not only wear a face shield in the workplace, but also a face mask.
  • Businesses should keep doors and windows open as much as possible to increase ventilation in their premises.
  • COVID risk assessment requirements have not changed since the last easing of lockdown.
  • Lateral flow tests will be available to everybody from this Friday.

Kathryn Davis from Visit Bath then joined us (from 32:40) to discuss ‘the Bridgerton effect’ and what it means for Bath. Kathryn showcased some of the media coverage Bath has received as a result of the city’s appearance in Bridgerton, the itineraries and experiences that have been put together to promote longer visits, and how Visit Bath is working with the Travel Trade to encourage future stays. It is great to see many businesses in the city joining forces to create a wider range of options for visitors.

Visit Bath’s Bridgerton hub features lots of inspiration to help people plan a future stay in the city. If you have an idea for a great Bridgerton-themed event, do get in touch with Visit Bath.

Next, we heard from Kevin Peake from Bath Unlimited (from 56:10). Bath & North East Somerset is home to some amazing businesses, often global leaders in their field, and Bath Unlimited works to showcase the city’s array of pioneering businesses and demonstrate that Bath is a great place to do business. Kevin urged innovators in Bath to get in touch to share their projects with the Bath Unlimited team.

Finally, Andrew Duncan from Realm LTD offered some insight into the future of town centres as England recovers from the effects of the pandemic (from 1:16:22). Andrew made some great suggestions for businesses, including:

  • As businesses reopen, you should put safety at the forefront, but you can begin to change your tone of voice. Humanise your messaging, offering people a warm welcome back.
  • Following lockdown, many people are looking for an ‘experience’. Take advantage of this by elevating what you to into an event.
  • Make doing business with you as convenient as possible by offering click and collect, email receipts, and digital appointment booking.
  • Aim to make your business more sustainable. Think about the producers you work with, which charitable causes you are supporting, and what the purpose of your business is.