Dear editor,
For months, leading up to the current ballot for a new term of BedfordBID (BID5), I’ve been speaking directly to the people behind the BedfordBID, the directors, drawn from businesses around the town, and the operations staff.
Read: Bedford Borough Council confirms it will vote against BedfordBID renewal
Many privately agree with me, that there is a need for change in the way the BedfordBID is run to better serve the businesses around the town, the majority of which are levied by law to pay for the service.
All will tell you that there has not been a formal board meeting of the directors since last October’s AGM, which I attended as the only ‘member’, a recognition that I had to apply for and agree to work in support of the BID, I imagine my membership has since been terminated?
It saddens me when I walk around the town centre to know that there is a pot of money, paid for by the businesses of the town, which is not being spent on their town centre (£450k in cash reserves left unspent as of last year’s accounts).
It concerns me when business owners around the town have to take matters of security, for their business and staff, into their own hands in the face of rising anti-social behaviour.
It angers me that money is levied from businesses to provide support functions and yet little or no real support for our businesses exists.
When we planned the incredibly successful St. Cuthbert’s Street Party back in May, Rosanna Heasman, of The Store and I, had to jump through hoop after hoop, to get the council to close the road, secure the area, provide risk assessments, plan what the businesses should do in the event of a bomb threat or a lost child.
Not one element of event planning was overlooked, as you’d expect, and yet there could have been support, there could have been a folder, there could have been some best practices to share from a body that claims to put on its own events in the town, but there was nothing.
Bedford is on the cusp of one of the most exciting, and potentially prosperous times, in its history.
With the Universal Studios Project on our doorstep and the potential for a railway linking us directly to Oxford and Cambridge, as well as our links to London, the town will receive millions in public and private investment in the coming years.
Bedford needs good direction and support for its town centre more than ever but the BedfordBID Company, the not-for-profit that run BedfordBID, is seriously lacking in strategy, ideas or results.
A better BID for Bedford
So, what might a “Better BID” look like?
I have proposed five actions to the Chair of the BedfordBID board, Samantha Laycock, that the Board could agree to which I feel would help to fix the foundations of the BID, such that our business people feel included and can properly measure the return on their ‘investment’.
- A clear plan for the overhaul of the operations team: I think there is a need for fresh leadership on the operations side of the business and for the team to be tasked with the areas of support they give businesses such as Marketing, HR/Financial support, Security etc.
- Freshen up the Board with new faces: The opportunity for a new directorial team to fill at least seven out of 12 places on the Board.
With the chair chosen by the directors at the AGM following the ballot result. Moving forward the chair should serve in three-year terms and be required by the constitution of the organisation to stand aside after two terms. - A clear five-point plan for the next five years in the town centre: detailing the ideas they plan to action and the KPIs for ensuring that the goals have been met and for future accountability.
- A commitment to regular meetings for everyone: All BID businesses are to be recognised as members of the BID (currently you have to apply to become a member) and new businesses are to be immediately invited to join as members.
Members are to be involved in choosing Directors in future years with a three on, three off per year as standard. - A commitment to transparency for all BID Zone businesses: Regular email communication to all members and weekly emails for Directors from the Ops Team giving updates on their work and actions.
Accounts to be more detailed and open, with any business wishing to examine the accounts given full breakdowns of all major expenditure lines.
This is public money being spent and they have every right to know what it’s being spent on and have forums to discuss that.
As I’ve said to them privately, if they go ahead and adopt these changes publicly, ideally in a town hall meeting of the BID businesses, then I would be happy to support the incumbent BedfordBID Company in the belief that they recognised the need for change and were willing to do something about it.
In the, more likely, event that they keep their heads firmly planted in the sand, then my advice to businesses paying the levy is that a better solution can be found in future to represent and support your business during the exciting times coming to our town.
Tim Edward
A Better BID for Bedford campaign
Editor’s note: BedfordBID has been invited to respond to this letter.
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