SKIPTON BID
NEWS Issue 3 | February 2018
KEEPING YOU IN TOUCH WITH YOUR BID There are many ways you can keep in touch with Skipton BID - follow us on Twitter @SkiptonBID and via Facebook @SkiptonBID, or take a look at our website www.skiptonbid.com which is updated regularly with our latest news and blog. Even more of you are now receiving this newsletter by email, which is a great cost saving for us. If you are still receiving a printed version, but would prefer it electronically then please get in touch: info@skiptonbid.com or call 01756 799033.
FREE SUNDAY PARKING CONTINUES THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY The all-day Sunday free car parking at the town’s Cavendish Street carpark will continue throughout February. Footfall figures for January indicate that the initiative - which was a hard-won concession for Skipton BID - has benefitted those local businesses which have opted to open. It’s still not too late for your business to take advantage of this great marketing opportunity!
CCTV We announced in January’s Skipton BID News that we are inviting tenders for the installation of CCTV into the town centre. We are delighted to report that the feedback we’ve received about this business support measure has been very positive indeed. If you would like to contribute to the discussion, please email info@skiptonbid.com.
We’d love to hear your stories about how Skipton BID has benefitted your business. Please email info@skiptonbid.com to share your news. The next edition of Skipton BID News will be published in March 2018.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
SKIPTON HEALTH & WELLBEING FAIR
May Day weekend sees a bumper bonanza for the town as the Waterway Festival and Tour de Yorkshire coincide!
The third Skipton Health and Wellbeing fair was hosted at Skipton Town Hall in January, with 30 local businesses welcoming more than 500 visitors to the event.
Tour de Yorkshire May 3rd – 6th Catch the action on Skipton’s award winning High Street, as the peloton passes through on the morning of Sunday May 6th.
Taster sessions, talks and demonstrations - on a variety of subjects from pilates and mindfulness to the Bowen technique and allergy testing - catered for the wide demographic who attended the free event.
Skipton Waterway Festival May 5th – 7th A free festival for all the family supported by Skipton BID which, this year, celebrates the bi-centenary of Skipton’s historic canal heritage.
Said event organiser Nikki Cookson: “The beauty of this event is that people can come along and talk to a range of practitioners, such as counsellors and reflexologists, with no need for an appointment. We are also grateful to Skipton BID which supported advertising for the event, enabling us to make sure that local people could take advantage of the advice, information and resources the fair offered.”
Skipton Sheep Day July 1st Flock to the high street for this free event which celebrates Skipton’s ‘sheep town’ heritage. Skipton Cycle Races July 11th For the fourth year running Skipton town centre will be closed to become a 1km closed road cycle racing circuit. Races for children, teenagers and some of the best riders in the UK will ensure another great crowd-puller for the town centre. Junior fun races start at 6pm followed by the Youth Racing and finishing with the Elite race. Skipton BID Annual General Meeting September 18th This will once again be held at Alexander’s Bar and Kitchen. All BID businesses welcome from 6pm.
FREE! OPPORTUNITY! A new BID initiative for 2018 gives all levy payers the opportunity to appear in our new pocket-sized book of discount vouchers and offers, aimed at both visitors to the town and at local residents - and designed to give your potential customers another reason to pay you a visit. The handy booklets will be distributed to all homes in the Town and handed to visitors by our team of Town Centre Ambassadors. Booked coach tours will also receive a supply for their passengers and we aim to distribute them in hotel rooms and in the Tourist Information Centre.
It’s completely free to BID levy payers - all we need is your business logo and details of your ‘special offer’. We’ll do the rest. You don’t need to be a shop, any business can be included - and your offer is only limited by your imagination. It could be a simple 5% or 10% discount to a voucher holder, a free tea or coffee with a meal, a special offer on your professional services. The choice is yours. The first issue is due to hit the streets before April - and space is limited, so act now. Send your logo and offer details to info@skiptonbid.com.
SKIPTON SPOTLIGHT
Welcome to a new section of Skipton BID News in which we will be talking to different business people and stakeholders from the town. Sharon Hudson - communications, customer services and partnerships manager at Craven District Council. Q1: Why are you so passionate about the Skipton Cycle Races? “I was the Tour de France project manager for Craven District Council which managed the arrangements when Le Grand Depart came through Skipton in 2014. This was a huge event and the television coverage gave some fantastic publicity to our area. Following the Tour de France we developed a legacy plan and one of the priorities was to develop more localised cycling events in the district. Town centre cycle races, also known as ‘criteriums’ are very popular, especially as you get to see the racing action many times as the cyclists do laps around the town centre. Skipton Cycle Races bring lots of people into the town on weekday evenings and being part of the National Circuit Series means that it is televised which is further great publicity for Skipton. We also run junior races in conjunction with Skipton Cycle Club which are open to local school children. The event has been running for three years and has enjoyed an increase in the number of spectators turning out year on year, with last year being the busiest year.” Q2: How important has Skipton BID been in enabling this event to happen in the town? “Skipton BID has been integral to the event going ahead. Funding from the BID helps to underwrite the event so it
can actually take place - if it wasn’t for that funding the event simply would not happen.” Q3: What’s your favourite way to spend your weekend in Skipton? “My ideal start to the weekend would be to do Skipton Parkrun which takes place every Saturday morning in Aireville Park at 9am, which we sometimes follow with breakfast at one of the cafes in town. I tend to spend much of the weekend ferrying my children around to various activities, but in between I like to enjoy a dog walk through Skipton Woods − we are so lucky to have such a lovely place on our doorstep especially when the wild garlic is flowering.
Photo Credits: Children’s Race - Jenny Cornish Main Race - photo Dean Reeve Photography
BCRP BUSINESS CRIME REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP In recent months certain shops in Skipton have been badly hit by ‘unknown individuals’, but this information can only be shared between those BID businesses which become members of BCRP. The website is available to all BCRP members and contains a picture gallery of ID-sought individuals captured via CCTV, who are suspected of theft and/or anti-social behaviour. It also includes lists of known individuals and those meant to be excluded from the town centre and its shop-watch business premises. The more businesses that have access to this vital resource, the more chance that these potential offenders can be stopped in their tracks. Unless your business signs up to become a member of BCRP you will not be able to access this information which could protect your business, your staff and your stock.
CHRISTMAS MARKETS NAMED WINNER AT GREAT BRITISH MARKET AWARDS For the second year running Skipton has won an award at the National Association of British Market Authorities awards. Last year the town won the award for Best Small Outdoor Market, and this year the Christmas Markets funded by Skipton BID - scooped the top spot for Best Speciality Market. The town’s regular four days a week market was also in the running for ‘nation’s favourite’, but despite being in the last six, lost out to Shrewsbury. Said leader of Skipton Town Council, Cllr Chris Clark: “Our Christmas market goes from strength to strength, drawing thousands of people to Skipton, which is testament to our events and market team for all the hard work they put in. Traders make a market, so I’d like to thank them, together with Skipton BID which provides vital funding to ensure that this and many other events in Skipton continue to contribute to our town’s vitality and viability.”
BCRP membership is included in your BID levy. Please email bcrp@skiptonbid.com or phone 01756 799033 for more information or to apply to join the scheme.
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK All the events, initiatives and services Skipton BID chooses to support, such as the forthcoming Sheep Day and Skipton Cycle Races, are decisions that we aim to make in consultation with the businesses we represent. To that end we organised two focus groups on February 8th for BID businesses to share ideas and feedback. Disappointingly only a handful of businesses signed up to this event. However it is not too late for you to get in touch to help form the third BID term . Please email info@skiptonbid.com or call 01756 799033. We would love to hear your ideas and feedback about: • Visit Skipton - how we can strengthen the brand and encourage more people to visit our wonderful town • Environment - how we can further improve and enhance the aesthetic appeal of Skipton • Business support - what measures we can introduce to further support your business.
SKIPTON BUSINESS AWARDS 2018 Skipton Chamber of Trade and Commerce, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2017, has once again championed Skipton businesses by launching the second annual Skipton Business Awards 2018 - an event which has been made possible with funding from Skipton BID and Skipton Building Society. Nominations for this year have closed, however there is still time to reserve your tickets for the awards event, to be held on Thursday 22 March at the Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton from 7pm. Visit: www.skiptonbusinessawards.co.uk for details.