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Spring 2014
BID Bulletin
Coventry City Centre Business Improvement District - Enriching our city
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a m ir a h C e h t m o r f e g Messa Welcome to this edition of the BIDs city centre newsletter. I hope that you find the information included within as both informative and useful. We realise the importance of communication with you, our members, and constantly strive to ensure that you feel that your opinions are valued. 2014 brings challenges and opportunities for us as businesses and by working together through the BID we have a much better chance of achieving both our individual and joint objectives. A recent survey was conducted about the city centre on-street and via telephone interviews I would like to share some of the key findings with you. We received 1,660 surveys in total. 850 were completed by phone, 380 were completed online and 430 were completed on-street. The on-street surveys were collected between 10am and 2pm on weekdays and Saturdays and interviews were carried out around Broadgate and Upper Precinct in the city centre. 1. 42% of visitors make a trip to the city centre at least once a week this is down compared to the 2011 survey figure which was 52%.
2. 59% of visitors spend 2 or more hours on a typical shopping trip, Average spend per customer is up by £5 on the 2011 survey at £36.42 showing that whilst footfall is down average spend is up. 3. The most frequent type of shopping done in the city centre is for clothing, footwear, fashion items (79%), small everyday household goods (42%) music, DVDs books (32%) and jewellery/ gifts (26%) 4. 55% of respondents said that Coventry City Centre was their main destination for non-food shopping. This has fallen yearon-year since 2007 (79%) showing that we are losing market share to other destinations including new schemes (Warwickshire Retail Park). The full findings are available to download from the BID website coventrybids.co.uk There are a number of items high on the BID board’s agenda in the coming months. Most notably how we are positioning the city centre through Marketing, events and promotions.
Other topics for discussion are Signage, Car Parking, Footfall, Void units and Business vitality schemes. If there are any issues important to your business please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team on 024 7683 1266 or email BIDS@coventry.gov.uk
Andy Talbot BID Chairman Director of West Orchards Shopping Centre
Making More of Your City The Council begin work at Junction 6 of the ring road shortly, which will be the catalyst for lots of other work in the city– all detailed on this link www.coventry.gov.uk/yourcity The work on J6 is set to start in March and will involve closing a large section of the raised junction for most of 2014. Please note Central Six and the railway station will both be accessible at all times and the loop of the ring road below will be open too.
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Enclosed in the newsletter are a number of helpful things – a diversion map, details of what they will be doing and a post card that encourages people to check out their web page and to follow them on twitter to keep up with travel information once work starts. If you want copies of the diversion maps or more postcards please contact Kieron Pennie on 024 7683 2998 and we will get them dropped off to you.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Coventry BID announces levy freeze for 2014/15 and appoints new vice-chairman There will be no rise in the annual BID levy charged to city centre businesses in 2014/15. As part of the BID’s five year strategy, a rise of 0.05% was expected this year but the BID’s board have opted to freeze the levy at 1.1% to support the on-going economic recovery and afford businesses relief from an increase in levy fees. The move comes as the BID recently appointed a new ViceChairman John Kiely, Franchisee of McDonalds, Cross Cheaping. John became the owner of McDonald’s Cross Cheaping,
Coventry in March 2013 and has worked hard to engage with the local community through cleanup campaigns, City Council, BID, and police initiatives in addition to customer value incentives including extended opening hours (24/7) and vouchering. Previously, John was the Commercial Director for a manufacturing company involved in global sales of products for the civil engineering market. Andy Talbot Chair of Coventry BID said: “Firstly, I am delighted that we
Website Update Due to an identified need for a separate Coventry BID website that focuses on the city centre retail offer, a brand new site is now in development. With a sleek, modern and user friendly interface, a full shopping directory, parking and travel information and offers, the site will be aimed at local residents from the city and wider region. Not only will this provide BID retailers with a commercial opportunity not seen before for the city, it will also offer a 24/7 online communication platform to showcase each individual stores offers and latest deals, news updates and venue details. Set for launch this Spring, the new website will help the city centre compete with neighbouring town Leamington Spa with a unique, intuitive new system that’s easy to use and even easier to keep updated. Alongside this new site, the Coventry City Council tourism team will also be launching a new visitor and conference website, to replace the ageing www. visitcoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk, also due to launch in the spring. Keep your eyes locked on www.discovercoventry.co.uk from late March for all the latest information.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
have been able to freeze the levy this year. Thanks to careful management of our finances, we are in a good position to be able to hold the planned levy rise and deliver the services we have pledged to as part of our five year business plan with confidence. I hope that this news is well received by our members. Secondly, I am delighted that the BID board have appointed John Kiely as the new Vice-Chairman. John has a wealth of experience and will be a great asset to the BID.”
New smartphone app launching soon
Work is underway on a brand new smartphone and tablet App for iOS and Android devices, which promotes every retailer in the city centre, along with many visitor attraction listings. Jointly funded by Coventry City Council, City Centre Business Improvement District, Coventry and Warwickshire Champions and the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the App has been designed to promote places to visit, eat, wine, dine and sleep in Coventry and Warwickshire. The App has also been built using the latest technology including augmented photos, interactive tours and incentive rewards. The App will be launched at an upcoming Coventry tourism event in March at Coombe Abbey Hotel. Each business will have a listing on the website and App and this can be content managed by the business as and when convenient. If you have not filled out a website listing form then please contact BIDS@coventry.gov.uk. We will be visiting stores over the next 6-8 weeks to take photos for the website; if you have any specific requirements please let us know.
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NEW OPENINGS
Visitor Guide
Meseta Café
Meseta, an infamous Italian brand from Bologna with many years of experience in roasting coffee has now opened its doors and first flag ship store to the UK, in Coventry, dipping its toes in the market place before rolling the concept out nationwide.
Shuropody
Shurupody recently invested in a full re-fit in West Orchards Shopping Centre making the store look cleaner, smarter and sophisticated. Shuropody is one of the UK’s leading total foot care providers. Our stores offer a unique combination of footwear, foot care and podiatry all under one roof and conveniently positioned within key shopping areas. Shuropody Coventry has three in store podiatry clinics and offers a wide range of foot care and comfort footwear products. Advice is available from our trained foot care assistants
Co-op Travel
The co-op travel moved from Bull Yard to Lower Precinct Shopping Centre recently having a complete change of scenery and a newly refurbished unit.
A new 92-page Coventry and Warwickshire Visitor Guide is being produced to promote tourism businesses throughout Coventry and Warwickshire. With over 18,000 copies distributed last season, this year’s edition promises to be even bigger and better. With things to see and do and places to eat and sleep, the guide has been produced by Coventry City Council and will be available as a free pick up in late March from all major hotels, libraries, transport hubs and rail stations, tourist information centres and available online at www.visitcoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk. To receive your free copy please call the tourist centre on 024 7622 5616 or email tic@coventry.gov.uk
Social Media Update
Coventry BID recently launched a Twitter & Facebook page to help promote the City Centre and its businesses. So far we have over 11,000 followers and this is increasing by the day. We have successfully launched a number of Competitions and campaigns which have been very successful achieving a high level of engagement with users.
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Using our social media platforms we advertise local businesses for free, helping drive sales and raising awareness of their brands. Throughout the year we will continue to run competitions, promote events and businesses within the city centre with the view of interacting with as many people as possible to raise footfall in areas around the city centre.
If you would like more information on how we can advertise your business and offers please contact BIDS@coventry.gov.uk In the meantime either give us a like on facebook or follow us on twitter. CovCityCentre @CovCityCentre
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Events Godiva Fringe
Working with the BID, Coventry City Council wants to understand how you think events can benefit your business in the most positive way. Most notable of these events is the Godiva Festival. The council would like to investigate a Godiva fringe festival the week leading up to Godiva in the city centre. This is your opportunity to get involved – have you got any events in your own premises you could badge as Godiva fringe? Would you like to have a presence in the park during the event? Would you provide offers to encourage Godiva attendees into the city centre following the festival? One idea is to give attendees a wristband they could flash to access offers. We want to hear your ideas! If you have any thoughts on Godiva Fringe and would like to discuss this with someone please contact BID Manager, Marc Dwyer on 024 7683 1266.
Coventry Half Marathon
As you may already know Coventry’s Half Marathon will be taking place on Sunday 23 March 2014, with a new date and new route. The event is expected to attract around 2500 runners, many of whom are fundraising for local and national charities. Using streets in and around the city for the race will cause changes to usual traffic routes, including closures along and close to the race route. In planning, every effort is made to minimise the disruption. Road closures will start operating from 6:00am in most areas and will begin re-opening from 9:45am as soon as runners have completed that section of the route. All roads will be re-opened fully by 1:30pm. Please note, once closures are in place, no vehicles will be permitted on to the race route until closures are lifted. (Arrangements will be in place for emergency vehicles) For a detailed list of road closures and map of the 2014 route please visit www.coventryhalf.com The route will operate a dynamic re-opening scheme to ensure roads are re-opened as soon as runners have completed sections of the route. If you require any further details please don’t hesitate to get in touch with race organisers go2events either via email at info@go2events.org.uk or call on 0845 308 4003.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Insomnia
The UK’s biggest gaming festival, Insomnia, is coming to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena on 18 – 21 April, over the Easter holiday. Watch live stage shows, explore a thriving Exhibition Hall, compete in tournaments of all levels, meet special guests including famous youtubers and immerse yourself in a world of activities suitable for gamers of all ages. It’s a celebration of all forms of gaming, right in the heart of Coventry. Founded in 1999, for over 14 years the Insomnia Gaming Festival has been a place for gamers of all backgrounds to congregate, socialise, discover new things and ultimately just have fun. There are many activities taking place throughout the weekend, play Minecraft, buy the latest gaming merchandise, play the latest games on PC, Xbox One, PS4 and watch live demos of upcoming games. At an Insomnia Gaming Festival there really is something for everyone. To get your tickets for the event visit the website www. insomniagamingfestival.com or call +44 (0)845 868 1337. Prices start from £14.
St George’s Day
Bring the family down to Coventry City Centre on Wednesday 23 April for a traditional celebration of St George’s Day. The event runs from 11.00am to 3.00pm and centres on Broadgate, with St George the musical, medieval music and magical storytelling all on hand bringing live family entertainment all for free! For more details go to www.coventry.gov.uk/events This event is set to attract visitors from across the region who may also venture into the city centre.
Events at a glance March 23 Coventry Half Marathon – Coventry, Various March 30 100 years of transport - Transport Museum April 10 Coventry Watch Museum Fundraiser – Ricoh Arena April 18-21 Insomnia – Ricoh Arena April 23 St George’s Day – Broadgate May 10 Annual Plant Giveaway - Broadgate May 30/June 1 Motofest – City Centre, various June 4 – 6 Godiva Festival – Memorial Park
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D I B e h t f o d r a o B Meet the The Board of the BID is in place to guide and monitor service delivery in accordance with the business plan. They are also tasked with representing the views of members within their chosen sectors on matters outside of the Business Plan which require authorisation. Here we would like to let you know who represents your interests on the Board of the BID.
Andy Talbot BID Chairman and Director of West Orchards Shopping Centre 41 year old Retailer, Married with one daughter. A retailer by trade having worked for retail brands such as Dixons, working from Saturday lad to Regional Airports Manager before becoming Managing Director of another airport retailer. I joined Prudential in 2003 and took over West Orchards in Coventry. Since then I have worked for developer Modus and now I am a director of West Orchards Coventry Limited and took over the chair of the BID in later 2013. Interests include reading crime novels, walking my dog and family holidays.
Richard Moon Senior Development Executive Council Representative 47 year old Chartered surveyor, Married with one son. Graduated with BSc in Estate Management from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1990. Joined the Council in 2010 in current role following 20 years working in the private sector in property development roles for Bryant Properties and Barberry Developments. I have worked in joint ventures with Land Securities and Richardson Developments delivering office, retail, industrial and residential scheme throughout the UK. During this time I worked with, and developed property for, Tesco, J Sainsbury, Ford Motor Company, Ernst & Young, TNT, Lear Seating, Showcase Cinemas, Boots the Chemists and many others. Interests include cooking, old Alfa Romeos and trying to convince myself that I’m still young enough to play Rugby.
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John Kiely Vice-Chairman of the BID 48 years old, Franchisee of McDonald’s Restaurant, Cross Cheaping since March 2013. Married with one daughter, Ella aged 11. Previous role for 10 years as Commercial Director of a Manufacturing company based in the North West, expanding sales worldwide, opening factories and sales offices in Europe and Emerging Markets (Africa, India, China, Russia, Australasia etc). In 2012, joined David Cameron and a Business delegation to Moscow for trade discussions with Russian Government and business Leaders. Previous 10 years as a Director of an international manufacturing and selling company selling drills and fixings in the UK. Hobbies include, skiing, swimming, football, reading and running the Coventry Half Marathon. Originally from North West London, now living in Warwickshire and committed to the well-being and prosperity of my employees and businesses in Coventry City Centre through my role as Vice Chairman of the BID.
Mark Wakefield Branch Manager – Yorkshire Building Society As a branch manager with Yorkshire Building Society I have 16 years’ experience in the financial services industry and started working for YBS in 2001 where I have carried out a number of roles. Prior to being manager at the Coventry Branch I’ve worked in the branches in Birmingham and Leicester. I’m married with 3 children. My interests include cooking and I love watching movies.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Jo Truslove Marketing Manager for Complex Development Projects Ltd Born and bred Coventrian, married with two teenagers. I Joined CDP in 2012 after working for Coventry City Council as a Principal Inward Investment Officer and CVOne as Marketing Manager for 11 years. I worked on various investment projects which includes Severn Trent and QCDA specifically focusing on providing a support service to staff relocating into the city. Whilst at CVOne I was responsible for all of the marketing collateral for tourism, conference and retail activity which included Christmas shopping, Feel Alive and the first Visit Coventry website. My current role involves the property management of Priory Place, trying to encourage new occupiers into the development and injecting more vitality into the area. I am also working with Fargo Village, Coventry’s new creative quarter and assist the board of trustees of the Coventry Charterhouse who are developing a plan to create a heritage park joining the city centre to Charterhouse. When not doing all of this my hobbies include family time with my dog, shopping (I’m good at this!) and sunbathing in hot places.
Nicola Cormell Lower Precinct Shopping Centre Manager Married with two children. After travelling with my husband who is in the forces I worked for the Public sector for a number of years within a secretarial / accountancy role before moving into the private sector. I joined the shopping centre sector over 13 years ago. I have completed the Diploma in Shopping Centre Management at the College of Estate Management, University of Reading. I have worked for a number of different managing agents such as Savills, Donaldson’s and Capita as well as working with a number of multi-national and small independent retailers. I joined Lower Precinct at the end of 2012 and currently work for DTZ. I am Vice Chair of the BCSC Midlands region and will become Chair in June. Interests include reading, socialising and I quite like shopping too!!
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Steve Warner Gym Manager, PureGym 40 year old Gym Manager (most famous for wearing green puregym morph suit) Opened up PureGym Coventry in Dec 2011 and have been here ever since. Worked throughout the UK and a few stints in the US as well. Have been involved in the Health and fitness industry for the past 15 years, working for David Lloyd, Nuffield, Fitness First and DC Leisure, in fact most of the major health and fitness operators. 2014 will see me attempt my first ever ironman distance race in September. Plus as it is my 40th year I am looking to do a mad cap challenge every month – so from running the London monopoly board to cycling London to Edinburgh I will be all over the place.
Further Board Members Darren Bien Branch Manager, Thomas Cook Ann Jeffery Store Manager Marks and Spencer Jackie Logan Owner Silverglade Jewellers Maria Thomas Business Manager, Barclays Bank Colin Harris Operations Manager, Culture Coventry Dawn McCann Nu Leaf Florists There are currently two vacancies on the Board if you are interested please contact Marc Dwyer for more details. The current vacancies are for national retailers and evening economy venues.
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Coventry Watch Museum The city’s Coventry Watch Museum is looking forward to welcoming TV antiques expert Charles Hanson to their fundraising event at the Ricoh Arena. The valuer auctioneer from the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, Bargain Hunt and Flog It! will be at the Legends Lounge on Thursday, April 10 from 7.30pm when it is hoped £5,000 will be raised by around 250 guests for vital maintenance costs at the Museum. The independent museum displays watches, clocks, tools and maps celebrating watchmaking history in Coventry – the industry dates back to the 1680s – and the charitable project aims to honour the city’s formidable artistry and craftsmanship. Peter Naul, secretary of the Coventry Watch Museum Project, said “We are asking people to bring along items they would like valuing which are clearly labelled and to leave them on a table at the front of the room. “Charles will then pick out the 50 most interesting looking objects, talk to the room about them and give a valuation. It is going to be a tall order to give 50 valuations in 30 minutes but it will add to the fun element to the event. There is a £5 entry charge and further information is available from Peter on 024 7640 2331 or by emailing coventrywatchmuseum@gmail. com
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Retail Crime Operation (RCO) The BID managed Coventry Retail Crime Operation (RCO) was relaunched last October with our Ambassador Mike Thompson taking lead on the project. The RCO has always served as an intelligence sharing scheme where business crime was reported by stores through the BID which allowed us to identify prolific offenders within our city centre and in turn feed this information back to all stores via intelligence briefings. A new strategy has been put in place not just to improve/increase the intelligence we use to target crime but to bring all city centre businesses and agencies together to achieve our objectives of: 1. Reducing crime within the city centre. 2. Improving visitors perception of crime within the city centre 3. To target a reduction in the cost of shoplifting to stores. With the upgrade in radio system last October, this was a catalyst to look at how we did things with the RCO and reinvigorate the scheme. Firstly, increasing the levels of intelligence we receive is key to the schemes long-term success. Previously we used ACIS a Microsoft Access based system that recorded over 4000 shoplifter offences and operated an exclusion scheme which targeted prolific offenders for city centre store banning orders. Looking at technological advances, we have recently invested in a new web based crime reporting tool called Facewatch. This exciting new piece of software allows our scheme members to report crimes instantly, not only to the BID but also straight to the Police via the internet. Running a ‘soft launch’ since late last year the system has already logged over 230 incidents in a 16 week period. By using one joint system we are already seeing an improvement in how agencies are interacting with the scheme, and we have had more businesses reporting to us than at this time last year.
BID newsletter - Spring 2014
Facewatch also allows us to analyse crime patterns and gives us a much speedier way of sharing our intelligence. Working closely with the developers of Facewatch we are in the unique position where our input has helped design new functions for the system and it now operates in the best possible way for our members. Word is already spreading on how we have integrated this system into our RCO and Police officers from Dudley, Walsall and Birmingham have visited us with the intention of using our best practice in their own cities. With this increase in intelligence we have taken the opportunity to revisit the RCO Exclusion scheme and how we are banning and dealing with prolific offenders. We now have an Exclusion committee that decides who receives a city centre store ban- any person that commits 3 offences within a 12 month period will be put forward to the committee for exclusion. Once the exclusion is approved that person is banned from all member premises for a period of 12 months. With the committee operating in this way it gives us a much more manageable scheme. If a no vote is issued, a letter will still be sent to the individual warning them about their behaviour within the city centre stores. To further the scheme, we have also begun working with agencies such as the Council CCTV control room and Council Community Safety team to look at a joint approach in offender management. This in itself is a new direction for how RCO schemes are ran. After a very busy start to 2014 for the RCO, and with a clear crime reduction strategy in place, we are confident of seeing a huge improvement in the way we work together to tackle crime. We have identified key businesses and timetabled visits to get you all involved in the RCO but if you require any Crime Reduction advice, would like CCTV viewing to help identify an offender, need radio training or anything similar, feel free to contact us and we would be happy to help.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Police update
The BID and community safety teams work very closely with your neighbourhood policing team to ensure that the city centre is a safe place to visit and conduct business. Police Sergeant Phil Rafferty would like to introduce you to his team and give you a brief update of their priorities this year: Pc Tony Coy Pc Chris Turner Pc Rupa Dewitt Pc Becky Balcombe Pc Angelo Cavaliere Pc Darren Walden Pc Jamie Munro Pcso Nicky Dryden Pcso Lynne Hawkins Pcso Chelsea Pfadenheur Pcso Wayne Pamire Pcso Michael Griffin Pcso Lyndon Clarke Pcso Mark Byrne Pcso Darren O’Keeffe Since April last year the team have been prioritising removing drunks and
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beggars from the city centre to make it a more attractive place for shoppers, So far eighteen different beggars have been taken to court (some more than once) and one has been given a conditional caution. The Police are also working together with other agencies in a problem solving approach in order to address the underlying issues of why people beg in the first place. Shop lifting is still the predominant offence within the ring road and we are trying to work with various retailers in order to reduce this. Only last week we obtained a Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order (CRASBO) against one prolific shoplifter banning him from the city centre. We are also in the process of obtaining one for another such offender. Another prevalent offence is general thefts and thefts from the person. We need the help of your staff to try and reduce the number of victims of this. Please challenge (nicely) customers that leave phones on counters and shopping bags on the floor. Please get staff to look out for elderly and vulnerable shoppers with hand bags
that are sometimes targeted by pick pockets .With your help we can make the city centre a safer place for your customers.
Sgt Phil Rafferty St Michaels Neighbourhood Policing Team Email: p.rafferty@west-midlands.pnn. police.uk
Plain clothes operation Mike Thompson also conducted a plain clothed operation over Christmas to help support stores in identifying shoplifters. In just 5 days he recorded 9 separate incidents and a total of ÂŁ524 worth of stock was recovered to various stores with the majority of incidents/stock recovered to stores with no security of their own. Due to the success of this trial we will be looking at key points of the year to run similar operations.
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Coventry in Bloom This year’s entry will be entitled “Coventry Commemorates” to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 1. There are also a number of events throughout the year to mark the occasion and the Herbert Art Gallery will also be commemorating the war in their 2014 exhibitions. The campaign will be launched in April and we will be holding a poppy seed giveaway event to encourage local
people to grow poppies at home. On the 10 May we will also be holding the annual plant giveaway in Broadgate. There will be a number or feature beds across the city centre including a giant poppy display outside Holy Trinity Church and decorative soldiers in Greyfriars green. We will also be involving local schools to give them the opportunity to design two of our flower beds.
Super-connected cities SuperConnected Coventry – Up to £3,000 grants available for Superfast Broadband.
Over the next few years, superfast and ultrafast broadband will change the world. It is vital that our businesses are able to benefit from these changes, so in January 2014 Coventry City Council launched Super Connected Coventry, a scheme that will allow SME’s in the City to claim up to £3,000 (excl vat) towards the connection costs associated with upgrading your broadband. To register interest and find out more about the application process, please visit: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/broadband Benefits of Superfast Broadband: There are real benefits for your business in taking a fast connection – how you use it will be unique to the way you do business. You could find: • Increased efficiency and productivity – cost and time savings • Increased functionality and reliability -Improved reliability of service, Improved data storage and accessibility, Better communication with customers and staff • Remain competitive in a global marketplace – more frequent and lower cost communication with suppliers, customers and business partners worldwide, develop e-commerce opportunities • Higher speed upload and download for large files
What is the scheme?
The scheme is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is part of the national Super Connected Cities and Superfast Britain initiatives. Vouchers cover connection costs of between £250 and £3,000 and are paid to the registered supplier directly. Vouchers can cover both fixed solutions (such as ethernet or a leased line) and wireless solutions (like satellite or microwave broadband). Businesses
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just pay the VAT, any amount over the value of the voucher, and the ongoing subscription cost. Across the world, businesses are signing up for faster, better quality connections and providers are launching new services that can only be accessed with a fast and reliable line.
Who is eligible?
Your business must meet the following conditions to be eligible for a voucher. Your enterprise must: • Be an active business, social enterprise or third sector organisation with your trading address located within the Coventry City Council Local Authority Area. • Employ fewer than 250 employees and have a turnover of less than £40 million. • Ask for a connection to upgrade your trading premises only – home-based businesses are eligible to apply but only if the majority of your business is carried out from home. • Be willing to sign up with a pre-qualified supplier for a minimum 6 month contract term for either:
• a minimum 20+Mbps dedicated symmetrical solution that is upgradable and has Service Level Agreements attached to the contract, or, • a minimum 30+Mbps contended service. Your existing connection must not be higher than 30Mbps.
• Not have received more than circa £165,000 in public de minimis state aid funding in the last three years. For further information please visit www.coventry.gov. uk/broadband or contact the Business Investment Team at Coventry City Council on 024 7683 2786 or e-mail sccbroadband@coventry.gov.uk.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Research 2013 Footfall
Footfall in the city centre was 2.1% down for 2013 against 2012. National footfall during the same period was down 3.8%. Footfall in the city centre improved through the year, being 6.3% down in quarter 1, 3.4% down in quarter 2, 0.02% up in quarter 3 and 0.8% up in quarter 4. Footfall in Market Way has seen the largest fall over the year, being 12.4% down. Footfall in the city centre during Christmas week (week 52, week ending 29/12/2013) and the week before (generally the busiest week of the year) was down against the previous year. Despite this, footfall figures suggest that the run up to Christmas started earlier and was busier than last year (with footfall up during 6 of the 7 weeks prior to Christmas). Footfall nationally was down across November and December.
Christmas Survey
We had 543 responses to our Christmas survey 301 completed the survey on street 242 gave us their views online.
Shopping and spend
• 46% of people interviewed on the street were gift shopping (main reason for visit to city centre) (lower than last year, 55%). The next popular reasons for their visit were ‘Work, business or study’ (23%) and ‘Non-food shopping (other than gifts)’ (9%) • Of those shopping during their visit, Boots (25% of those shopping on the day), Marks & Spencer (23%), Debenhams (20%) and Primark (17%) were the top four stores that respondents intended to visit. The notable addition to this list from last year is Boots, which was 5th most popular last year. • The average spend amongst the 223 people interviewed on the street willing to reveal such detail - £61.22, this is down from £69.70 last year – the lowest average since 2010.
www.coventrybids.co.uk
Grounds for success: General advertisement
• 27% said they have seen or heard advertisement or slogans about Christmas in Coventry (slightly higher than last year (23%)
‘Discover Christmas in Coventry’
• 36% (out of online and street surveys) recognised the ‘Discover Christmas in Coventry’ advertising campaign with a visual prompt. This is notably higher than last year (26%) and the highest since 2009. • Out of those who were aware of the campaign when prompted - the most popular places to have seen it were: Posters/ flags around city centre (47% of those who were aware of it), Discover Christmas in Coventry’ shopping guide (24%) and Promotional leaflets (21%)
Website
• 20% said they had visited the visitcoventry.co.uk website (online survey respondents were slightly more likely to have visited the website (24% vs 17% amongst on street respondents). • 72% of those who had used the website rated it as either excellent or good, with an average rating of 3.9 out of 5. These ratings are slightly lower than last year (86%, 4.1)
Events
• 53% of respondents were aware of festive Christmas events taking place in the city centre (similar to last year’s %) • The most popular events were: Christmas Lights Switch-On (24 Nov Broadgate) (51% of respondents who were aware of any events); Christmas Fountain Stage events (through Dec, Precinct Cross) (30%) and Christmas Express Land Train (Weds and weekends in Dec, city centre) (29%) To read the full survey please visit coventrybids.co.uk or email one of the team.
Mcdonald’s recycled coffee donated to Coventry City Council
McDonald’s franchisee, John Kiely has set up an initiative with Coventry City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), recycling the used ground coffee beans from his Cross Cheaping restaurant to fertilise flower beds within the city centre. The idea came about after taking inspiration from the restaurants Planet Champion, Taz, who had heard of a similar initiative in London. Lab tests show that coffee grounds are particularly good for acid-loving plants, but also, as a substantial amount of the acid is “cooked out” of the coffee and drunk the residue is also suitable to be used as a fertiliser for the majority of plants. For the past few months John has been storing the coffee in the restaurant ready for the Landscape Group, contracted by the Council to manage cleaning and greening in the city centre, to collect and re-use in the floral beds in the city centre. So far the team has successfully used the ground coffee in Lady Herbert’s Gardens and Greyfriars Green. The Council will be monitoring how successful this is with a view to using in other areas of the city. McDonald’s franchisee and ViceChairman of Coventry BID, John Kiely said: “At McDonald’s, we are constantly challenged to reduce our environmental footprint, and as part of this we already recycle our used cooking oil and convert it into biodiesel. Recycling our used coffee was the next logical step, and another stride towards our ultimate goal of sending zero waste to landfill. I am delighted we can contribute to the greening of the city centre in such a proactive way” Councillor Abdul Khan Cabinet Member for Energy and Environment said, “I’m delighted that we have been able to work with McDonald’s to make good use of the coffee grounds that they would otherwise throw away. It’s a win, win situation and I’m sure the plants and flowers in our parks will be all the better for it.”
BID newsletter - Spring 2014
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s U t c a Cont Marc Dwyer City Centre Manager Coventry BID Floor 7 Civic Centre 4 Much Park Street Coventry CV1 2PY Mob: 07506 689775 Tel: 024 7683 1266 Email: marc.dwyer@coventry.gov.uk
Neal Ashby BID Ambassador Mob: 07983 473138 Tel: 024 7683 1015 Email: neal.ashby@coventry.gov.uk
Adrian Woolford BID Liaison Executive Mob: 07904 851839 Tel: 024 7683 1015 Email: adrian.woolford@coventry.gov.uk
Mike Thompson BID Ambassador Mob : 07908 213733 Tel: 024 7683 1015 Email: mike.thompson@coventry.gov.uk
14-0109-NH
Clive Nelson BID Ambassador Mob: 07950 526113 Tel: 024 7683 1015 Email: clive.nelson2@coventry.gov.uk
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BID newsletter - Spring 2014
www.coventrybids.co.uk