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Term Two Newsletter #3
October 2019
It has been a very successful second year of our second term at Cambridge BID and we are pleased to showcase our current and upcoming projects in this newsletter.
Cambridge Awarded Prestigious Purple Flag Accreditation Cambridge BID, in partnership with CAMBAC, was delighted to find out recently that our application for Purple Flag accreditation was successful. More than 70 towns and cities in the UK and Ireland have achieved Purple Flag status to date, by demonstrating that they provide a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and cultural activities while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents. The Purple Flag application was put forward by a broad working group that also included Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and business representatives. Five themes were assessed as part of a rigorous application process that covered everything from the diversity of brands on offer to patterns of movement within the city centre at night and the extent to which the streets felt active and animated. Purple Flag is assessed annually and the working group will continue over the coming months to develop and deliver projects which enhance the evening and night time economy of Cambridge.
Meet our new Leisure & Nighttime Project Manager Our new Leisure and Nighttime Project Manager joined the BID office this month. Jenny has a varied background in project and events management, particularly in the arts sector within festivals and museums. She is joining the team after two years working abroad in Vancouver, Canada. "As a newcomer to Cambridge my eyes are wide open to everything this amazing city has to offer locals, tourists, and the workforce. I'm excited to be joining Cambridge BID to support and promote the night time economy, and working to keep Cambridge a safe and vibrant place to visit."
Christmas Lights This year we will be holding two events to mark the start of Cambridge at Christmas. With the first event taking place at Station Square on Thursday 14th November with Star Radio Breakfast DJ Josh providing the music. The main event takes place on Sunday 17th November in the Market Square where we will see a variety of community groups, choirs and schools perform on the stage. The lights will be switched on at 5pm and this year we are working with Star Radio to find Cambridge’s Christmas Star to help us flick that switch. We are asking listeners of Star Radio to nominate their hero to switch the lights on in the city centre, details will be available on our social media channels and website nearer the time.
Christmas Magazine Our Love Cambridge Love Christmas magazine will shortly be going to print and will be available early November. This year we have increased the print run to 85,000 copies of which 70,000 will be delivered directly through letter boxes in and around Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk & Essex. It will also be available to pick up for free from places like the Park & Ride sites, hotels, Visitor Information Centre, Shopping Centres and any other businesses who wish to stock it. The magazine is designed to promote Cambridge at Christmas and encourage people to come into the city during the festive period to shop, eat, drink and enjoy the vast number of cultural offerings the city hosts during the winter months.
City Ambassadors Over the summer we celebrated the sixth birthday of our Love Cambridge City Ambassadors. The Ambassadors play an important role in keeping the city welcoming and looking its best – they have welcomed over 59,248 visitors over the last 12 months, reported 782 environmental issues and 3,511 instances of commercial waste to the City Council for follow-up. In addition, they carried out 4,087 business visits, keeping everyone up-to-date with Cambridge BID initiatives designed to help the city thrive.
Supporting City Events & Festivals In our second term we have increased out grant pot which allocates limited funding to support applications from external organisations for creative and engaging projects that would support, compliment or add to the BID’s objectives. In the past year we have proudly supported Cambridge Jazz Festival, Cambridge Film Festival, Cambridge Music Festival, Cambridge Pride, the North Pole Ice Rink in Parkers Piece and the big firework display on Midsummer Common. We believe this fund is a great way to support our rich and cultures community, as well as getting the brand and messaging of Cambridge BID out to their engaged audiences.
Cows about Cambridge
Hidden Gems
Next spring over 50 cow sculptures will form a trail of discovery across the city, encouraging residents and employees from Cambridge and the surrounding areas to explore their environment from an exciting new perspective - while promoting wellbeing and an active lifestyle, and facilitating discussions on environmental issues.
We continue to be committed to supporting Cambridge’s independent businesses and have made significant progress in developing new campaigns that will raise awareness of the quality and breadth of Independent offer in Cambridge as well as educating people on the importance of shopping locally and how this benefits the city.
There’s still time to get involved. To find out about the range of sponsorship opportunities available, please contact Julie Gaskell, Head of Partnerships at Wild in Art: julie@wildinart.co.uk. Discover more about the project by visiting cowsaboutcambridge.co.uk
Before Christmas, we are aiming to launch an enhanced brand identity for Love Cambridge Independents called ‘Hidden Gems’. We envisage that this campaign will create more interest and a buzz for visitors and residents, as well as gaining buy-in from the independent businesses. Please see a sneak peak of the campaign visuals below!
Cambridge BID Mystery Shop & Awards Love Cambridge Gift Card The Love Cambridge Gift Card was launched in August 2018 and we have seen a great first year. More than £50,000 worth of Gift Cards have been sold since August 2018 and over £35,000 has been redeemed across the 200+ BID businesses that are participating in the scheme. We are currently getting ready for a busy winter anticipating lots of Gift Card sales in the run up to Christmas. If you are within the Cambridge BID area and don’t currently accept our Gift Card, then please get in touch with Helen Hames to find out more. There is no extra cost to accepting the Gift Card, if you accept Mastercard then you can accept the Love Cambridge Gift Card.
Partnership with CAMBAC Following a successful collaboration between CAMBAC (Cambridge Business Against Crime) and Cambridge BID during the Purple Flag accreditation process, the aim is to build on this with further joint projects that benefit the whole business community in Cambridge, including members of both organisations. The partnership with CAMBAC allows us to continue to deliver vital projects such as the Taxi Marshal scheme, which has so far helped over 20,000 people get home safely after a night out this financial year. CAMBAC continues to work closely with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Cambridge City Council to minimise the impact of crime on businesses in the city, addressing issues such as shoplifitng and alcohol related disorder. As well as operating a city-wide information sharing network via a secure, online database and radio network, CAMBAC also works with partners to identify emerging trends and implement measures to tackle any issues that arise within the three key workstreams of Retail, Leisure and Street-based Anti-Social Behaviour.
Rapid Response The Rapid Response Service usage is increasing but there isalways room for more! Operating between 8am - 11am, 7-days a week, we would love to see this service used more. If you are walking through the city on your way to work and see some mess, call it in. We want to encourage everyone to take pride in the city, not just your place of work. Remember, they will clean up bodily fluids, broken glass, pigeon fouling, graffiti and other detritus. Call them on 07773 369 1 1 7
On Thursday 26th September we were delighted to host the Cambridge BID Awards at St John’s College. The Cambridge BID awards celebrate the very best customer service in the city and were attended by over 150 people representing a wide range of BID businesses that participate in our Mystery Shop Programme. This year 4 businesses achieved full marks across both rounds of mystery shopping: Castle Fine Art; Fraser Hart; Gonville & Caius Conference Office; and Lockhouse Games. A total of 28 businesses were announced as category winners or runners up and these were: Category
Winner
Runner Up
Restaurant
The Punt Yard
Varsity
Café
Le Patissier
Hot Numbers
Independent Business – Fashion & Beauty
Burr Bridal
Laird Hatters
Independent Business Other
Millers Music
Della Kaur & Open Air Shoes
National Business - Fashion
Bravissimo
Yours Clothing
Late Night Venue
Cambridge Brew House
Champion of the Thames
National Business – Shoes & Fraser Hart Accessories
Sunglass Hut
National Business - Other
Castle Fine Art
Bang & Olufsen
Professional Business Open
Premier Travel
Kuoni
Professional Business Other
Gonville & Caius Conference Office
Grand Arcade Car Park
Leisure/Attraction
Lockhouse Games
Visit Cambridge & Beyond Guided Tours
Market Trader
Il Molino UK
The Mac Daddy
Overnight Accommodation
Regent Hotel
Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge City Centre
University College B&B
King’s College
Christ’s College
If you are interested in getting involved in our 2020 programme then please get in touch with Helen (helen.hames@cambridgebid.co.uk)
One year on at Cambridge BID Kristian Foreman has been working at Cambridge BID for one year now and we are delighted to announce his promotion to Marketing and Project Manager. “A definite highlight of my first year at Cambridge BID has been bringing the first ever Restaurant Week to Cambridge. I was extremely proud of the high levels of engagement the project received from both businesses and consumers. We had over 60,000 views to our website in 7 days with over 4,000 vouchers download equating to an estimated economic impact of £23,000+ for the restaurants that got involved. Planning has already started for next year’s restaurant week and I am confident it will be even better. Another highlight of my year has been getting the opportunity to work closely with the Wild in Art and Break teams. Cows about Cambridge is such an interesting and ambitious project to work on, and it makes it even better than it’s for such a worthy cause. It will undoubtably bring the whole city together and connect businesses, artists and residents and I can’t wait for next Spring to see the trail come to life.”
Website & Weekly Updates Find out up-to-date information about all of Cambridge BID's projects, initiatives and events, access resources, sign up to our weekly e-newsletter and read the latest news about Cambridge BID businesses at:
www.cambridgebid.co.uk
@LoveCambridge_ @LoveCambridge_ @LoveCambs
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BID Socials Relax, network, chat and visit some of the wonderful venues we have across the city at our monthly BID Socials. If you are a BID business the activity and first drink is on us! We had some great ones so far this year, including a gin making session at Cambridge Gin Lab, punting on the River Cam, a free screening at Cambridge Film Festival, Wimbledon screening at The Tamburlaine & beer tasting at Thirsty and Hungry. For full details on venues, activities, dates & times visit our website. Don’t forget to sign up to our mailing list to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For information on any projects mentioned in this newsletter please get in touch: info@cambridgebid.co.uk