Spotlight
2011-2015 - WHAT WE ACHIEVED IN SOUTHSIDE
Birmingham’s most vibrant and diverse district: embracing Hurst Street, The Arcadian, Chinatown and the Gay Village
YOUR CHANCE TO
SAY YES TO ANOTHER The Southside BID has been working around the clock since its inception in 2011 to improve the district and we are proud to have delivered a successful programme of initiatives that has made this a great place to live, work and play. What we delivered: *A cleaner Southside – We provided a seven-day a week litter picking service, a jet washing and street cleaner service to remove grime and chewing gum from the pavements and the immediate removal of fly posters, graffiti and fly-tipping. *A safer Southside – Our commitment to making Southside the safest district in Birmingham included the provision of 90 hours of street warden assistance every week, a dedicated Southside PCSO, the development and improvement of a Pubwatch scheme, 17 dedicated city pastors, taxi rank marshalling on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and a range of projects to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety in the area. *A brighter Southside – We provided more than 100 new hanging baskets and flower toughs, the area’s participation in the successful citywide Floral Trail project, a range of new public art including the Rhinestone Rhino and Anna Garforth’s Fox as well as a wide range of tree maintenance across the district. *A better-connected Southside – Almost 3,600 sets of directions were given to visitors to the district by our street wardens and
they were helped on their way by the eight new way-finding totems funded through the BID. The businesses across the BID area also enjoyed significant benefits from the £2.2m of positive PR generated for the area by the BID as well as the dedicated suite of inward investment marketing material developed for the successful Invest in Southside initiative and the awardwinning Southside Stories films that have been watched by thousands of people as well as the regular communications between the BID and its levy payers.
*An effective Southside – As well as delivering physical improvements to the district, we also lobbied hard on behalf of the district’s hundreds of businesses. The BID has made sure that the district has been prominent in the discussions about HS2 and the Birmingham Smithfield development.We have also helped businesses secure more than £175,000 of grants and raised almost £200,000 from the private sector to support key initiatives in the district.
Live, Work and Enjoy the Southside Spirit
More than 250 businesses will have the chance to vote in the renewal ballot with voting set to open for six weeks on October 12.
Southside BID needs at least 51 percent of the eligible businesses who vote to say YES in the upcoming ballot to continue for another five years and BID chairman Paul Garry – managing director at Gallan Group – believes its manifesto for a second term offers a bright future for the area.
Following the Allagents Annual Awards 2015 Northwood Birmingham received GOLD and SILVER awards for Customer Service. Well done to all the team!
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Southside BID has launched its campaign to secure a mandate for another five years.
Launched in 2011, Southside BID has overseen the investment of almost £2 million in a range of initiatives that have helped it become one of the city’s most thriving districts.
BIRMINGHAM (BROMSGROVE ST)
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achieved in the area over the past five years and we hope that businesses give us the YES vote we need to continue a programme of investment that will support the ongoing transformation of Southside. The BID is funded by the 260 eligible businesses within the district paying a levy of two percent of their rateable value, which raised £1.6 million over the previous term.
*An exciting Southside – Southside is the most diverse and vibrant district in Birmingham and we have worked hard over the past five years to ensure that key annual events such as Birmingham Pride, Chinese New Year and Summer in Southside were bigger and better than ever while introducing new initiatives, which saw an overall increase in footfall in the district of 15 percent.
CONGRATULATIONS TO LOCAL ESTATE AGENTS NORTHWOOD
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FIVE YEARS
CONTACT
BID Manager. Julia Chance | bidmanager@southsidebid.co.uk Chair. Paul Garry | paul@gallangroup.com
He said: “Everyone involved with Southside BID is incredibly proud of what has been
A further £192,685 was raised from the private sector and another £175,000 in grants was also secured for businesses in the area making the BID excellent value for money according to its manager Julia Chance – one of two full-time staff at the BID. She said: “The fact that we managed to raise almost £200,000 in areas such as sponsorship and grants to support initiatives ranging from our Christmas lights to the development of our Invest in Southside website means that every penny of the levy was spent on improving the area rather than on administration. “We are really hoping businesses decide to back the BID for another five years so that we can continue the exciting progress we have already made which has encouraged 30 businesses to open their doors in the area and attracted tens of millions of pounds of investment in new apartments as increasing numbers of people want to be part of the Southside story.”
THOUSANDS
ENJOY SUMMER
IN SOUTHSIDE
The streets were filled with colour and sound as thousands of visitors descended on the district for the latest Summer in Southside festival. An estimated 13,000 visitors enjoyed the two-day cultural extravaganza that saw 66 performances by 71 national and international artists in a spectacle that was produced by Birmingham Hippodrome. Visitors enjoyed a great choice of street food – a new initiative for this year’s festival, colourful free pop-up performances, interactive installations, comedy and live music across the district in Hippodrome Square, The Arcadian, Inge St, and Hurst St. Birmingham Hippodrome’s Director of Creative Programmes Graham Callister said: “Following last year’s festival we’re delighted to have brought back Summer in Southside for 2015. Brilliant artists, delicious food, fantastic volunteers and thousands of people including lots of families and children. “We thank everyone who made Summer in Southside so enjoyable this year from those who stayed all day, to the shoppers who popped in for an hour or two. Our aim now is to build on this and bring it back next year.”
Live, Work and Enjoy the Southside Spirit
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For more information, visit
www.southsidebid.co.uk or www.enjoysouthside.co.uk
For more information, visit
www.southsidebid.co.uk or www.enjoysouthside.co.uk
SOUTHSIDE LEADS CALL FOR
in the
Spotlight
DIRECT CHINA FLIGHTS Southside BID is leading the call for the introduction of direct scheduled flights between China and Birmingham following the success of a chartered service during the summer.
Hainan Airlines launched a twice-weekly service between Beijing and Birmingham on July 3, which carried more than 4,000 Chinese tourists into the city before the service ended on August 28. Julia Chance, BID manager in Southside – which incorporates the city’s Chinatown – said a new direct service would have huge benefits for the city and its Chinese community. “This is the next step for Southside and the wider city,” said Julia. “We are seeing a significant shift in the demographic of Southside with lots of new businesses coming to the
Ann Leung, a director at Southside-based United Travel, said Birmingham was perfectly placed to reap the benefits of a new direct service to China. She said: “The demand is undoubtedly growing, which has been shown by the success for the second year running of Hainan’s fully booked service this summer.” Paul Kehoe, chief executive at Birmingham Airport, added: “Direct flights between the two cities, if developed into a daily service, could deliver an additional £81 million to the UK economy each year, including £62 million per year for the West Midlands.”
2015 – 2020 – WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE
WITH YOUR SUPPORT district. We will also continue the Southside Clean Team who will be on call seven-days a week to keep the district free of rubbish and grime. By extending the successful green wall and recycling schemes, Southside will also ensure it is the most environmentally friendly district in Birmingham. *Southside is becoming one of the most investable districts in Birmingham and we will continue to work with potential investors as well as all our resident businesses by signposting potential support that will help them save money and improve their profits. Here at Southside BID we believe that our first term was just the beginning of a journey to realise the full potential of this amazing part of Birmingham. These are our key commitments if we are successful in securing a second term:
*Southside will maintain its ‘local first’ procurement policy that encourages businesses to work with each other and we will continue to offer regular networking opportunities to help promote the ‘Southside family’ ethos that is at the heart of the district’s success.
*We will improve the public realm and public spaces across the BID area with a major focus on improving the gateway area around Grand Central and investing in a new Hippodrome Square and an improved Hurst Street.
*Major events such as Pride and Chinese New Year lie at the very heart of Southside’s success and we will build on these events while also introducing new initiatives with a Festival Seed Fund.
*Maintaining a safe and welcoming environment is a key commitment and we will continue to invest in the Southside Warden scheme while also improving lighting and floral displays to further enhance the aesthetic appeal of the
To find out more information about the achievements in BID 1 and our commitments for BID 2, go to www.southsidebid.co.uk
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Live, Work and Enjoy the Southside Spirit
Terry Runcorn
area as well Chinese investors who want to be part of the Birmingham success story.
Group Resource Director
SUCCESS
OF THE GREEN
WALL Southside BID and its partners are looking at the possibility of extending its unique green wall initiative along the A38 following the success of the first installation.
More than 140 metres of the central reservation along the A38 Bristol Street were covered in foliage in a bid to absorb pollution and the initial results have suggested that the installation is having a positive impact on the quality of air in the area. According to researchers from Staffordshire University, who have been monitoring the green wall, green screens may have intercepted around 145 million particles per square metre a day, with each leaf removing up to three-quarters of a million particles per day. Off the back the success of the project, Southside BID and its partners including Gooch Estate, Atkins and the University are exploring the potential for extending the installation along the full length of Bristol Street and other high-volume traffic areas, further fulfilling Southside’s safer, greener, cleaner pledges.
Tell us about your business?
GB Holdings operates multiple licensed businesses within the night time economy. We run and manage three of the areas most popular destinations in the hugely popular and diverse LGBT sector, The Nightingale Club, one of the UK’s biggest and longest running gay venues, The Village Inn, known nationally as one of the best live entertainment venues and the Loft Lounge hugely popular for it’s signature cocktails, great food and fantastic setting.
How did it all start?
It started initially with the concept of the Loft Lounge which was created by Lawrence Barton and his family around 8 years ago in a space that was at the time unoccupied within the premises that is used by GB Training. It was and continues to be a huge success. The opportunity arose to purchase the Village Inn, already moderately popular within the gay village. Over the last seven years it has become arguably one of the busiest venues within the area. Lastly, the Nightingale Club was placed into liquidation by the previous management and it was felt it would be inconceivable for Birmingham to lose such an iconic and important venue. We are really pleased the club’s restoration and its return to popularity over the last few years after considerable investment.
What is your background?
I have worked in the licensed sector for over 30 years, gaining experience in all aspects of the trade from the supply chain through to managing and operating bars and clubs.
How has your business contributed to the area?
Our business has contributed to the area in a number of ways in my opinion. The brands within our group are so distinctly different, something of which we are very proud and we feel that they offer, between them, something distinctly different to the area. Together the three venues have helped establish Birmingham as a go to destination of choice for people from all over the country. Collectively the venues and the parent company have also contributed in helping the Birmingham Pride festival to become one of the biggest events in the city’s calendar attracting in excess of 60,000 visitors to the city every year.
What do you think of the continuing efforts to regenerate Southside? The BID in collaboration with businesses, organisations and residents in the area have collectively changed the face of what is now known as Southside. They’ve taken a largely run down area, unused by the wider community and transformed it into a pivotal contributor to the night time economy. The area is now well lit, much safer, more inviting, has more to offer, and is, in my opinion, one of the most vibrant areas in the city.
What is the best thing about Southside?
Southside has something for everyone. The LGBT community are well served with numerous bars, clubs, shops, restaurants and other meeting places firmly establishing Birmingham as one of the most inviting destinations in the country. It’s offer is varied and diverse and it’s community value it highly. Over and above that, the choices available in the area are exceptional, from the Internationally acclaimed Birmingham Hippodrome, the Glee Club, the choice in the Arcadian centre, the array of high quality chinese and oriental restaurants and destinations to the quirky Electric cinema and the Old Rep. It really is a bohemian and interesting place for locals and visitors alike.
What advice would you give someone wishing to start a business in the area?
Make sure you have something different to offer. Southside is full of so many varied businesses and places for people to visit and it would be fantastic for investors or creative people to come to the area and add to that mix in a positive way. Also, be prepared for the hard work. You get out, what you put in!
Live, Work and Enjoy the Southside Spirit
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