Hastings B.I.D. February 2019 Update

In this month’s newsletter:

1) Budget planning for the BID for 2019/20 – where your money goes
2) Easter, summer and Christmas events from the BID – plus a new ‘busking code of conduct’
3) Flyposting and flytipping – please think twice
4) High Street survey – results
5) The role of Peter, our Business Ambassador, and how he is helping in cleaning the town and the fight against business crime
6) The BID team – brightening up the town centre
7) Updating Queens Arcade to celebrate the birthplace of TV
8) Get your wall or fire door decorated for free – BID public art plans
9) Free space to promote your business in the town centre and what the BID can do for you – FREE
10) Workspace available at Rock House

How we invest your BID money

In total the BID levy provides some £190,000 per year after collection costs, and on top of this the BID company (Love Hastings Ltd) generates approximately £30,000 extra in grants and other income.

The BID’s cash budget is broadly allocated for the next financial year as follows:

  • Christmas lights: £15,000
  • Summer planting £15,000
  • Public art projects £15,000
  • Events £35,000
  • Marketing £13,000
  • Market research £3,000
  • Security patrols £15,000
  • ShopWatch / BarWatch subsidy £6,500
  • Office rent, professional fees, and overheads £12,500
  • Sundry costs £3,500

The BID also directly employs three staff who are overseen by a voluntary board of directors drawn from the local business community – you can read more here.

Christmas is coming…

At least it is in the BID office, as we are already planning ahead for this year’s lights and events.

First though we have to get through Easter and the Summer – so look out for lots of rabbit-themed family fun on Good Friday and a summer season of street performances that will keep you entertained.

The BID team is also working on a new ‘buskers code of conduct’ which is hoped will improve the quality of street entertainment in the town centre.

Read more here.
Flyposting and flytipping – please think twice!

We appreciate that many businesses have exciting events and messages they want to advertise, but please think twice before using flyposting as a marketing tactic. Quite often the artwork is left in place for months after the event has passed, defaces public or private property and it costs time and money for us or Hastings Borough Council to remove it.

Additionally, over the last few months the Business Ambassador has reported and dealt with well over 100 fly-tipping incidents around the town. Many of these are from homes and businesses in the area. Please respect the town and ensure you get rid of your waste responsibly.

High Street Survey 2019 – results

We had nearly 250 responses to our recent high street survey, and the news is good for anyone thinking about opening a shop in the town!

Despite talk of online shopping threatening traditional high streets, the overwhelming response was that people still want to see variety and quality in their local shops above and beyond anything else.

They also want safer and more attractive streets with more special events – and that’s where the BID comes in.

The survey results are being shared with the council who are using them to develop their own plans for the future of the town.

Find out more here.

Your Business Ambassador – Peter Rolfe

Your Ambassador, Peter, is the eyes and ears of the BID on the ground. He’s available to help businesses with a range of needs, but also works hard to help keep the town tidy, clean and safe.
Peter deals with dozens of issues every week, ranging from getting flytipping and flyposting quickly removed to dealing with dangerous situations that need fast action to stop them getting worse.

One such example was where he quickly reported an open BT access panel outside NatWest to Open Reach as an emergency.

A senior BT Engineer thanked Peter for the report, saying: “If this had been left unreported there was a real risk of water damage, which would have had a significant and severe impact on local businesses.”

Getting to grips with shop theft

In the last few weeks Peter has assisted in recovering stolen goods to the value of £1,000 – including catching two shoplifters who had snatched seven expensive jackets from Debenhams.

As a voice for local businesses and services Peter now attends regular Police briefings at Hastings Police Station, sharing your concerns and any relevant intelligence so the Police understand the bigger business crime picture.

Please do speak with Peter if you are experiencing any problems.

Peter also routinely meets with Glenn Conway, the council’s town centre Waste and Recycling officer to discuss any issues within the BID, and this important networking has lead to some fantastic results lately. These include rapid response to removing hazardous substances and the relocation of nuisance bins.

Peter said – “The look and feel of our town is very important, so it’s essential I forge strong relationships with the right people to keep it clean, tidy and welcoming.”

The police have also been busy getting shoplifters into the courts recently, and have seen some notable successes with prolific local villains. You can read full details here.

If you want to be more actively involved with cutting down crime and anti-social behaviour in the town, please join the local Shopwatch or Barwatch schemes. These are run by the Business Crime Reduction Partnership, which is administered by the BID.

You can find out more here.

Practical work from the BID team to clean up the town

Following reports of some stray street art and unwanted graffiti, we donned the overalls and spent an afternoon painting the alley between Havelock Road and Priory Square. This is one of many graffiti hot spots in the town, and we’re currently investigating ways to help reduce the opportunities for tagging.

We’re especially keen to use the local history to create murals, which not only tell the story of our town centre, but also cover blank walls that are frequently tagged.

BID public art projects for 2019

Public art is a brilliant way of brightening up the town, and we are delighted with the great response there has been to the mural commissioned by Coastal Currents on Queen’s Road.

This year we are looking at decorating more walls around the town – so if your building has an empty side wall in a good location please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do.

We also have plans for an ‘outdoor gallery’ using the many metal fire doors found around the town centre. The hope is that we can fill 30 of these with spectacular splashes of colour and we’ll be talking to business owners about getting their consent over the coming weeks – so watch this space.

More information here.

Free promotional space in the town centre

Don’t forget as a levy payer, you are entitled to two free promotional spaces per year in the town centre. We even have professional weighted gazebos and tables available to use.

On top of this the BID team can help out with a wide range of things – from building you a free website or proof-reading your new menu, to acting as a key-holder, organising a community clean-up, or helping train your staff in how to use their Shopwatch radios. For more info on these items and other help we can offer check our services page here.

To find out more, please get in touch with Chloe.
Desks available in Rock House co-working space Ground Control

Rock House currently has availability in its co-working space Ground Control. They offer affordable and flexible dedicated desks, for £160 a month (with one-off £30 sign up fee) with 30 day rolling contracts. The cost is ‘all in’, including all utilities, service charge and high-speed internet.

For more information or to arrange a visit, contact Adam on adam@rockhouse.org.uk or 07856209924 / 01424235601
By |2024-02-11T10:33:30+00:00March 7th, 2019|Love Hastings|Comments Off on Hastings B.I.D. February 2019 Update

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