RTW Together Annual Report 20/21

ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS

royal tunbridge wells together annual report 2020-21

business improvement district

TO GETHER Business Improvement District

foreword 2020/2021 has proved to be an unprecedented challenge, unquestionably the most difficult year we have experienced in Tunbridge Wells in over half a century, and I am heartened to see so many businesses have managed to adapt, evolve and remain trading or successfully re-open.

businesses that were open for either home delivery or Click & Collect. Our re-opening kits were incredibly popular, with over 120 companies provided with thousands of posters, floor stickers and visors to help with their re-opening(s).

Proving beyond doubt that we are stronger together.

During the past twelve months I believe we have demonstrated the value and effectiveness of our Business Improvement District, and I would like to thank the team for their hard work in supporting all our levy payers during this challenging period. It is worth remembering that our former Chief Executive, Ross Feeney, had only been in post for five weeks before the first lockdown.

Later in the year, we invested in a festivefocused marketing and advertising campaign, including an online gift-guide to support businesses across the town centre. We also installed a wonderful new Christmas lights scheme for the town centre – to bring some fun and festive cheer at a much-needed time – including a hugely popular lit snowman for the Calverley precinct.

I am particularly proud of how we remained operational throughout both lockdowns. We established a WhatsApp group to keep in touch with businesses, and invested in social media marketing to promote those

You can read more detail about our achievements in the forthcoming pages of this report. I hope you will agree with me that we have had a strong year, but more importantly we have supported hundreds of our levy payers when they most-needed our support. Finally,

foreword it is worth emphasising that Royal Tunbridge Wells Together is your BID. We are funded by businesses across the town centre and we deliver events and activities following feedback and engagement with you. If you have any suggestions or ideas for how we can support you in 2021/22 then please get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.

Nicky Blanchard chair royal tunbridge wells together

I am delighted to present our second annual report, which provides an opportunity to reflect on an incredibly challenging year, whilst also looking forward optimistically to the end of restrictions and the resumption of ‘normal life’ in Tunbridge Wells.

And on a personal note, my appointment to the role of BID Director, to bring your Business Improvement District into a post-restrictions era of trading, and initiate new BID projects to complement our existing work, based on your business and town centre priorities.

My aim is to make the BID team, and the role that we carry out, more visible to you than ever before. We will be

present when you need us, easily accessible and implementing more ways of communicating your feedback and ideas - as I personally get to know your business, big or small, I hope you’ll also get to know me, and my drive to understand the issues you’re facing, promote your services and products and improve your trading conditions.

Despite continuing our activity at full pace, we have retained enough budget to enable us to reduce your annual levy payment by 25% for 2021/2022 and increase payment terms from 28 days to 90 days to make it easier. Every penny collected will be instrumental to the long-term recovery of our town and we will be working harder than

ever to ensure you all feel the support.

As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas for 2021/22 and look forward to seeing the hustle and bustle of normality return to our town centre.

Sarah-Jane Adams bid director royal tunbridge wells together sarah-jane@tunbridgewellstogether.co.uk

What is a Business Improvement District (BID)?

PROVIDING SUPPORT THROUGH A CHALLENGING YEAR

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■ Promotional activity including:

GOV.uk says:

è A high profile Christmas Lights Display and provision of decorations for retailers.

Business Improvement Districts are business led partnerships which are created through a ballot process to deliver additional services to local businesses.

They can be a powerful tool for directly involving local businesses in local activities and allow the business community and local authorities to work together to improve the local trading environment.

NETWO

è Digital Christmas Shopping Guide visited by over 2,000 online users. è TW Works campaign to promote the town for business.

We say: Royal Tunbridge Wells Together is your BID coordinator. You voted for us and you collectively have the power to decide how we spend your investment for Tunbridge Wells.

■ 73% of Tunbridge Wells businesses voted to become a BID in 2018.

■ Our first term as a BID began on 1 April 2019.

■ Our purpose is to represent business needs within the BID area.

■ Our board of Directors is comprised of local business representatives who reflect various industries, such as retail, hospitality, arts, etc.

■ 650 Tunbridge Wells businesses have been and will continue to be supported by the BID in 2021/2022.

è Parking fee reduction campaign. è 5 TW focussed broadcast interviews and over 65 pieces of editorial coverage.

■ Ongoing pandemic guidance for businesses, employers, employees and customers regarding closures, reopening and health & safety.

■ 5 roundtable networking sessions for businesses to share best practice and ideas.

■ 7 webinars for support and training, such as three sessions last November which provided free advice for reopening.

è Hoardings and signage.

■ Contribution to a manifesto on retail, hospitality and leisure for the Government to support the ‘bounce back better’.

è Social promotion of businesses during lockdown, with over 30,000 engagements.

■ Supply of information on available grants and employee furlough scheme.

■ Delivery service coordination and click and collect support.

■ Reopening toolkit with 1500 safety posters and 4000 masks provided.

■ A whatsapp communications group for engagement and important updates (this currently has over 85 members, please get in touch to be added on 07808 646758).

■ 40 informative newsletters.

35,000 engagements on social

100+

pieces of positive tw press coverage

40

informative newsletters

650 5

businesses supported

119

businesses supplied with reopening kit

243 sneeze screens

virtual round table networking sessions

businesses supported directly via promotional campaigns

7

learning and development webinars

floor stickers

1272

610

health & Safety posters

+

unique visitors for christmas online shopping guide

700 face visors

✕ 4000 500 face masks distributed to shoppers

face mask exemption badges

Christmas lights & gift guide

Christmas is always a crucial period economically, and with last year’s Tier 4 status putting a dampener on footfall, we produced an online gift guide to enable shoppers to continue to browse and purchase from our impressive selection of eclectic independents, big brands and family favourites from the safety of their own homes.

The launch of the festive website www.twchristmas.shopping coincided

hospitality point of sale items

2000

130

860

with a lively Christmas light installation across our high streets which helped spread some cheer and generate positive profile for the town despite the circumstances.

Funded by the BID and a welcome contribution from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the lights made the front pages of The Times and The Courier and included a three metre high snowman ‘Frosty’ who was shot and shared far and wide by families and influencers across social media.

It is our ambition to make our lights and Christmas activities bigger and better each year. 2021 will see the production of a short Christmas film promoting town centre businesses and their contribution in providing the festive lights display, featuring local traders and a very special man in a red suit!

looking forward OUR 2021 plans

FINANCES Each year the Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Board of Directors approve an annual budget to take forward the business plan for the year ahead. Annual audited accounts are produced and are available to BID levy payers on request, or downloadable from the Companies House website. The following is a summary for the 2020/21 financial year.

Better Town for Business Events Promotion Accessibility Administration Overheads Budget Contingency Surplus £71,633

£23,714 (6%) £74,288 (18%) £105,941 (25%) £33,779 (8%) £13,373 (3%) £76,375 (18%) £20,843 (5%)** (17%)

Total Expenditure

£327,769*

*Excludes unspent contingency and budget surplus **BIDs are required to budget a minimum 5% contingency

Levy Income: Government Grants: Revenue: Total Income:

£379,435.75 £22,429.00 £15,000 £416,864.75

6%

18%

18% 5%

Throughout 2021 and into 2022 we will continue working hard to increase footfall and dwell time, whilst also retaining focus on our push to secure investment for the town centre. We will deliver exciting marketing and events initiatives to ensure Tunbridge Wells is a destination of choice for both local residents and those further afield.

18% 25% 3%

We will also: ■ Recruit a member of the team to continually patrol the

8%

Income is derived mainly from the BID levy payable by the BID members for the year to March 31st, together with 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 £25,000 worth of in-kind contributions in addition to the BID levy during its second year.

town centre, offering direct support, security and BID presence on the doorstep of your business.

■ Complete the installation of new footfall monitors across the town centre to provide businesses with up to date information quantifying how many people are visiting the town centre and for how long.

■ Promote your business for free with social media campaigns, free photography and videos about your premises and new marketing projects.

■ Introduce a free town centre magazine, designed to promote BID levy payers and Royal Tunbridge Wells at no cost to those businesses featured.

I voted for the BID and support it now more than ever.

The team has done an excellent job during the pandemic and really helped to keep the town together. It’s been great to have their support - as a key hub for the transfer of information and advice, as well as a direct link to the council and government as we prepare for a bounce-back reopening.

The BID has a key role in communicating and joining the dots between all businesses and parties, while also advertising the incredible benefits that are here in Tunbridge Wells, not only to visitors but to companies wishing to relocate in the South East. This will continue to be particularly important over the coming years.

In what has been an unbelievably difficult year, the BID has played a key role in helping us all stay in contact and in our planning for a way out of our current troubles.

BID member

Julian Leefe-Griffiths Owner of the Tunbridge Wells Hotel

We’ve supported the BID concept and appreciated its existence throughout the disruption to our business caused by the pandemic.

To have this link to local government has been essential for local businesses and in a year when ‘supporting local’ has never been more important for the town, we think the BID can really help the town get back on its feet.

Where Tunbridge Wells may have fallen into a slump as a result of the pandemic, we need the council to be fully engaged - and the BID will be pivotal in pushing for the town’s interests and hopefully making this happen.

Most people will know that historically I have not been a fan of the BID. However, over the last 12 months I have noticed some real positives - from the vastly improved Christmas lights to the Covid-19 guidance available across various channels.

I look forward to seeing the town reopen and the promotional activities kicking in - that’s when I hope the BID will really come into its own both for Tunbridge Wells and all of our local businesses.

In the future I’d like to see the BID figure out a game plan to help small businesses come through the pandemic by working with landlords to help business survive and to increase footfall.

As a brand new business that opened in November 2019 there was no buffer to fall back on when the pandemic reduced footfall and closed our doors for over 6 months.

We are not a minority as there are so many small businesses who have received no support from landlords and are fighting to survive.

We need to encourage shoppers to support local and make coming to Tunbridge Wells attractive.

We hope to see a real revival across the town this summer and beyond, into the Christmas period.

Jon Traquair

Co-owner, MacMan (Goods Station Road)

Matthew Sankey

who operates restaurants on Mt Ephraim, in the Pantiles and Sankeys fishmongers on Vale Road

BID member

Charlotte Bowyer

Co-Founder of Zero Waste Company

ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS

TO GETHER Business Improvement District

www.tunbridgewellstogether.co.uk ● 01892 531985 Market Square Office ● Royal Victoria Place Royal Tunbridge Wells ● TN1 2SS

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