2019/2020
royal tunbridge wells annual report
FROM THE CHAIR Welcome to Royal Tunbridge Wells Together’s first
your behalf locally and nationally with key decision
Annual Report as a business improvement district
makers. When the BID was voted for in 2018 you
company. I am immensely proud to be Chair of
told us that there were four areas of interest to you:
WORKING HARD ON YOUR BEHALF I am delighted to be presenting the BID’s first
promoting our activities; we needed to improve our
organisation continue to develop and effectively
1. Working Together for a Better Town
annual report for 2019-20. Our first year was one of
engagement with local businesses; and we needed
represent our local business community throughout
2. Accessibility
progress and positivity, but one that sadly ended
to promote the support/benefit we had provided to
the first year of this five-year term. 2019/20 was
3. Marketing and Promotions
with the onset of COVID-19 - which we know is
businesses throughout the year.
not without its challenges, many of which related
4. Events
proving a massive challenge during our second year.
the company and have been privileged to see the
to the transformation of our organisation into a BID
For 2020/21 I am committed to not just improving
company, however, with our new team in place I
During this first year we have concentrated on
Thanks to your ‘Yes’ vote in 2018 we have been
the effectiveness of our operations, but also
firmly believe we made a difference to the town
these four areas in delivering projects, re-engaging
able to invest in our town and celebrate its cultural
ensuring Royal Tunbridge Wells Together builds on
centre, and will continue to do so in 2020/21.
with businesses to offer added value, increasing
heritage, whilst playing a significant role in making
its years of success and achievements to provide a
footfall in the town, connecting and empowering
the town a more vibrant and attractive place to
credible bottom-line benefit for our levy payers that
Like all town centres, Royal Tunbridge Wells has seen
strong business partnerships and firmly placing
live and work.
encourages both more investment into the town
continued competition from online retailers; changes
Royal Tunbridge Wells on the map as a must visit
in spending patterns has meant we have had to adapt
destination for both locals and visitors. This report
During our first year we have supported initiatives
quickly to engage with customers; and redevelopment
highlights what we have achieved over the past
such as the £2 all-day Sunday parking, which ran
Our door is always open, and I warmly welcome
works around the town have meant we have needed
twelve months, and our plans for 2020/21.
from October 2019 to March 2020 to encourage
both positive and constructive feedback on our
to invest in marketing and communications activities
visitors to the town centre on Sundays, and events
events and activities. BIDs around the country have
to keep Royal Tunbridge Wells a destination of choice,
such as September Food Month, Jazz on the
demonstrated that when businesses work together,
rather than a destination of habit.
Pantiles and the Winter Lantern Parade, to name a
they can make positive changes that benefit
few. Our distribution of events grants also ensured a
everyone. Let’s continue that positivity and upward
year-round programme of events across the town,
success in Tunbridge Wells.
Royal Tunbridge Wells Together acts as the voice for business at a time of uncertainty, lobbying on
Nicky Blanchard Chair
centre and an increase in footfall and dwell time.
aimed at increasing both footfall and dwell time. We have also worked to save levy payers money through our ‘green bottles’ initiative, as well as
THE BOARD 2019-2020 Made up of town centre business community representatives, the board meets bi-monthly to oversee all Royal Tunbridge Wells Together activities and approve the annual budget and delivery plan. It has been chaired by Nicky Blanchard since its inception.
recruitment drives, business briefings and hosting networking events.
Ross Feeney
Chief Executive
I joined Royal Tunbridge Wells Together in February
T: 07808 646 758
2020 and was immediately impressed by the
E: ross@tunbridgewellstogether.co.uk
effective way the company had been set up and the transparency of its operations. What was clear, however, is that we hadn’t been vocal enough in
INTRODUCTION
Our Vision For royal Tunbridge Wells to be a
popular, attractive, safe, interesting and enjoyable place for businesses to invest, and visitors and local residents to spend leisure time with friends and family.
The Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Business
In Royal Tunbridge Wells, all businesses with a rateable
Improvement District (BID) was launched on 1st April
value of £15,000 or over, are liable for an annual fixed
2019, following a successful ballot that took place in
levy. All the funds collected are used on local initiatives,
the autumn of 2018. The BID will operate for 5 years
events and services. Our five year operational plan was
and has been developed to increase vibrancy in the
set out in the Tunbridge Wells Together Business Plan,
town centre and provide added value to our business
which can be downloaded from our website.
community. There are approximately 320 BIDs around the UK in towns, cities and industrial locations. Many of these BIDs are into their 2nd, 3rd or even 4th terms and clearly demonstrate that BIDs are an effective model for delivering what businesses want and need in their location.
Working Together for A Better Town
Business briefings and networking events Along with partner organisations we also held a number of networking events for levy payers and other local businesses. ■ Business rates briefing with TWBC ■ Calverley Square briefing with TWBC ■ Tunbridge Wells Local plan briefing with TWBC ■ Dementia Friendly Communities event
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a special town and we
Food hygiene and
have been working hard on your behalf to ensure
allergen awareness
that the town remains a great place to invest and
with Cooper Burnett ■ Elysian information event (Former Cinema site)
do business. In our business plan we talked about
In September and October, we worked with the
cost savings, recruitment and skills initiatives,
council’s environmental health team to provide
networking events, safety & security and lobbying.
complimentary food hygiene and allergen awareness
A lot has happened in the last twelve months:
training to hospitality businesses. Four courses were
Royal Tunbridge Wells is one of the safest towns in
Following a suggestion from Jeremy’s Home Store, we
run with local independent restaurants, pubs and
Kent but this doesn’t mean that there is no crime.
have hosted a number of retail forum meetings – an
takeaways attending.
Retail theft and loss was targeted in December with
open event for all retail focused businesses to learn
a high-profile operation carried out by the Safe Town
about work the BID is doing, exchange ideas and aim to
Partnership. We provided funding for this operation
drive up footfall in the town centre.
Waste Collection savings We know that waste collection savings are a priority for levy payers and during our first year we worked
Retail Forum Meetings
Safety & Security
to assist local police and security staff. In addition, the
Recruitment
team helped the Community Alcohol Partnership with
to reduce overhead costs for businesses and by
We represented local businesses at the Jobs & Training
their launch in November to combat alcohol related
collaborating with Green Bottles, a local, independent
fair at the Assembly Hall Theatre in September bringing
anti-social behaviour in the run up to Christmas.
waste and recycling contractor. Businesses that
along 35 vacancies from levy paying businesses. Over
We set up a What’s App group to offer support and
participated could save around 20% on their
250 job-seekers attended the event. In addition, we
offer advice to levy payers both from the team and
current commercial waste costs by signing up for
invested in a recruitment campaign to promote careers
from other businesses and town retailers. The private
the service. A number of businesses have signed
in Royal Tunbridge Wells highlighting the significant
up to the service so far – waste audits have been
benefits to working where you live as well as attracting
carried out and real tangible savings are being made.
new talent to the town. Promotional posters, such
Contact Emma Watkins at Green Bottles at
as the one below, were put up in railway stations in
emmawatkins@greenbottles.co.uk
London and Kent.
ROYAL TUN
BRIDGE
We teamed up with Studio 44 and Social Media First,
engage with customers and analyse what their online presence delivers for them. Two courses ran during our first year, and more will be organised if there is sufficient demand.
UN IT Y:
@ RO YA
LT W EL
WELLS
with town centre news and voice any concerns and challenges. To join simply text your name and business name to 07808 646 758
Free Business and Legal Advice LS
@ RO YA
LT UN BR
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for Levy Payers Levy Payers were offered 30 minutes free legal advice
local businesses, to deliver SEO, analytics and social media training, enabling levy payers to learn how to
group has enabled levy payers to keep up to date
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Improving skills
What’s App Levy Payers Group
sessions from Thomson Snell & Passmore’s team of E WELLS
ROYAL TUNBRIDG
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help with the impact of COVID-19. In addition, levy payers were also offered help from Sharp Minds Weekes and accountants Synergee to devise strategies
LS ... BR ID G E W EL RO YA L TU N TO LI V E D W O RK , A N TH E W A Y TO TUN BRID GE PAR K, ROY AL
expert lawyers across a wide variety of sectors to
Communications, ActionCOACH business coach Julian
#L OV ET W
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to increase engagement with customers, stimulate cashflow, improve their business operations and manage their cashflow during the lockdown.
events
RTWT Grants Fund
Event Grant amount
Local venues, attractions and other local cultural
The Mela 2019
£2,000
organisations run events all year round that act as a
Spa valley railway family events - Peppa Pig
£3,600
Hosting and supporting events was seen as a
stimulus for footfall. We pledged to create and maintain
Civic society - Heritage open days
£2,000
core priority in the pre-BID consultation, and we
a grants fund that local event organisers can apply to.
unfest Music Festival
£2,000
quickly formed a working group of businesses and
£800
Croquet world Cup
individuals with expertise in events to oversee
The events must take place within the BID boundary
Friends of Tunbridge Wells Museum
grants and events expenditure.
area and we aim as far as possible to ensure that an
Jazz on the Pantiles
equal spread of events and themes are achieved. A
Tunbridge Wells Independent Farmers Market
simple application form for grants can be downloaded
Harvest Food & Gin & Jazz Festivals
£3,000
from our website. In our first year we provided the
2019 Puppetry Festival
£5,272
following grants:
Artsbox Festival
£1,150
food & Drink events September saw over 22,000 people visit the town as
Local & Live Festival 2019
part of September food and drink month. Thanks to our
Winter Lantern Parade
investment in marketing and promotion the number of events was substantially increased this year with higher visitor footfall and local businesses did a brisk trade. We also launched a new website dedicated to promoting our local restaurants and producers.
Winter Lantern Parade Jazz on the Pantiles
Following heightened interest from levy payers and visitors the Winter Lantern Parade was brought
2019 saw the return of the acclaimed Jazz on the
back for February 2020 with Royal Tunbridge
Pantiles, a fixture of Royal Tunbridge Wells from May
Wells Together underwriting the cost of the event.
to September. In 2019 the BID gave a grant of £5000
Workshops across the town and local schools enabled
towards this cultural highlight which ran every Thursday
this to be a community led beacon for the town,
evening bringing in people from all over the borough.
attracting visitors from all over the region.
Puppetry Festival Royal Tunbridge Wells Together supported the ever popular Puppetry Festival which ran from 11 - 13 October 2019, and filled Royal Tunbridge Wells with puppetry in all its formats. Crowds were entertained by performances, street theatre, talks and workshops from local, national and international artists.
£75 £5,000 £150
£5,000 £12,000
marketing & promotion
Social Media Promotion We have both B2B and B2C social media platforms to share content, drive traffic, build brand awareness for Royal Tunbridge Wells and individual businesses. We are delighted to have reached over 1 million users since
We know how important marketing and promotion
the BID began. This year has seen us heavily invest in
is to highlighting Royal Tunbridge Wells as a must
all our social media channels to
visit destination. We have developed and funded
grow our social media reach
major marketing activities specifically designed
and highlight town events and
to attract visitors all year round. We developed a
promotions across all channels.
unique ‘RTW’ brand for promoting the town centre, and have used radio, press, leaflets, promotions and
stay connected
guides to put the town centre to encourage people to visit the town centre.
@royalTWells and @rtwtogether What’s on Guides To fulfil the requests from business for better and more cohesive promotion of events, we launched a quarterly What’s On Guide. 30,000 were produced each quarter, with 20,000 being distributed across the borough of Tunbridge Wells, 5,000 were distributed to
Town Maps
Christmas in Royal Tunbridge Wells 125,000 A5 guides were designed, printed and
website earlier this year designed to keep you up to
distributed by Take One Media across the South East
door dropped by Royal Mail in the first week of
date with all our news. On the website you can source
to Tourist Information centres, Motorway services and
November. Aimed at enticing people to visit the town
a business directory, newsletters, links to event listings
hotels. 90,000 guides have been distributed so far.
for shopping, eating out, ice skating or going to the
and details about how the BID is working for you.
theatre, these 28 page guides featured gift ideas from more than 100 local businesses. The guides were
April. Stocks are now held at sites across the town.
delivered to homes in Crowborough, Forest Row,
The map, designed and hand drawn by a local artist
Uckfield, Westerham, Brasted, Oxted, Lingfield, East
has proved to be incredibly popular.
Grinstead, Hildenborough and Heathfield.
Tunbridge Wells Whether it’s a double page spread for Valentine’s Day in Wealden Times, supporting editorial about the town in Kent Life or enthusing about our £2 Sunday parking initiative on the radio, we are always on the lookout for ways to promote the town to the local and wider public.
Royal Tunbridge Wells Together unveiled a new
local businesses for their customers and 5,000 were
We updated and reprinted our unique town map in
Celebrating Royal
Website
guide WHAT’S ON 0 jAN-mAr 202
WHAT’S ON guide APRil-JuNe 2020
finances
accessibility
Each year the Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Board
Income £450,579
of Directors approve an annual budget to take forward
Levy Income
£449,319 (>99%)
the business plan for the year ahead. Annual audited
Revenue
£1260 (<1%)
accounts are produced and are available to BID You told us that parking, transport and accessibility
How to get involved
levy payers on request, or downloadable from the
were key concerns and we listened:
with the BID
Companies House website. The following is a summary
Working Group We have been meeting regularly with colleagues
Better Town for Business £17,218 (4%)
for the 2019/20 financial year.
We want businesses to be engaged on an on-going
Events
£115,752 (26%)
basis and have input into the BID’s more detailed annual
Promotion
£75,390 (17%)
Accessibility
£30,561 (7%)
Administration
£60,881 (13%)
Overheads
£76,764 (17%)
Budget Contingency
£22,529 (5%)**
Surplus
£51,484 (11%)
Total Expenditure
£399,095*
plans to make sure that we continue to represent your priorities.
from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (Streetscene and Parking Teams) and Kent County Council (KCC)
There are a variety of ways to engage including: 11%
to discuss issues of concern relating to access and parking.
4%
■ Becoming a Member – download a simple form from our website
5%
■ Attend our forums, business briefings and
Highways/Streetscene walks
26%
networking events ■ Contacting the BID team
We have undertaken regular highways walks, reporting
17%
faults and problems straight to the KCC portal for resolution. We welcome businesses telling us if they spot something that needs repair or attention, please do get in touch and let us know so that we can report it.
annual general meeting Our first AGM was due to take place in the early summer of 2020, however the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a delay. As soon as an AGM can take place, it
Parking Initiatives
will be organised. Please note that only members of the
17%
13% 7%
BID can vote at the AGM so please join now.
We invested in a Sunday parking offer running before and after Christmas to support our retailers. We supported the £2 Sunday parking offer with advertising across West Kent, East Sussex and South East Surrey in titles such as Wealden Times, Kent Life, Sussex Life and Surrey homes. This was complimented digitally
*Excludes £51,484 (11%) budget surplus
with two homepage takeovers of Kent Online which
**BIDs are required to budget a minimum 5% contingency
saw over 200,000 impressions across the home page Income is derived mainly from the BID levy payable by the BID members for the year to March 31st, together with
and local sites. This was backed up with a social media campaign across Kent Online and our social media channels. By March the parking offer had generated over 1000 additional visits to the town and significantly increased dwell time.
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other contributions from landowners and excludes Value Added Tax. All income received is wholly applied in furtherance of the BID objectives. Royal Tunbridge Wells Together has secured approximately £50,000 worth of in-kind contributions in addition to the BID levy during its first year.
our plans for 2020/21 The onset of COVID-19 will inevitably have an impact on our operations and activities in 2020/21. However, we will continue to deliver the priorities outlined in our pre-ballot business plan as effectively as we are able. During this financial year, we will focus our investment on: Launching a new savings advisory service for levypayers – providing independent advice and support on how to save money on your expenses and overheads, Installing footfall monitors and wifi-nodes around the town centre to provide accurate and timely data on visitor numbers and dwell time, Take over management of the town centre Christmas lights, and delivering festive events if possible. Marketing and promoting Royal Tunbridge Wells as ‘Open for Business’ Providing advice and support to help businesses mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and remain located in the town centre. Royal Tunbridge Wells Together is your Business Improvement District company. We exist to support your business and this historic town centre. If you have ideas and suggestions for events, marketing campaigns or services please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
www.tunbridgewellstogether.co.uk ● 01892 531 985 Market Square Office ● Royal Victoria Place Royal Tunbridge Wells ● TN1 2SS
@rtwtogther
rtwtogether
twtogether