Leicester’s Business

Leicester’s Business Improvement District

City centre director Sarah Harrison explains what a BID is, and what ours has been up to

You may have noticed the festive ‘Christmas in Leicester’ TV advert during December just gone. It’s a proud moment to see your city advertised on TV and we have our city’s not-for-profit organisation BID Leicester to thank for it. The BID has done a lot more than just that for Leicester though and plans to do even more according to its new 2023-28 business plan.

Since it was established in 2018, BID Leicester has worked in partnership with the local authority to deliver additional services. The BID acts as a means of delivering additionality, as opposed to services already delivered by local authorities, to improve the area and benefit local businesses.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are business-led and business-funded bodies, created through a ballot process to improve a defined area. To fund a BID, a levy is charged on business rates payers within this area. The BID then uses its resources to develop services or improvements within the district.

They can be a powerful tool for directly involving local businesses in activities, allowing the business community and local authorities to work collaboratively.

BID Leicester’s geographical area covers the city centre and De Montfort University, and its 11-strong senior management board represents the wide range of business and educational sectors in the city centre. The quality of the board supports the strong partnership between the BID team, local businesses, and the local authority. This strong alliance oversees the successful delivery of the business plan. In the 201823 business plan, there are three strategic priorities.

1

Raising the profile of Leicester through high-quality marketing and events

The BID’s support has created fantastic new additions to the annual events calendar; attracting thousands of people into the city centre, increasing dwell time, spend, and benefitting the local economy.

BID Leicester’s inaugural events, Architects of Air 0Luminarium giant inflatable sculpture and BrewBeat, a beer festival showcasing an extraordinary range of musical talent, are just two examples of new, exciting events organised and funded by BID Leicester.

Large-scale projects supported by BID Leicester were Light Up Leicester 2020, Leicester's first citywide light-art festival, featuring spectacular illuminations and interactive installations and Graffwerk’s Bring the Paint 2019 street art festival, attracting over 46,000 visitors. The permanent public art created by international and local artists has transformed many buildings.