Five thousand copies of a new six page brochure are being distributed to all shops and businesses in Newbury Town Centre. The brochure gives an update on all aspects of the changes for the Town Centre over the next few months.

• Exciting times for Parkway.
  
  
• The Newbury BID (Business Improvement District).
  
  
• The appointment of the Newbury BID Manager.
  
  
• New traffic arrangements for the autumn.
  
  
• Plenty of parking in Newbury.
  
  
• Breakfast in Bed with Chris Wright (Newbury Sound).
  
  
• Parkway appoints Centre Manager.
  
  
• Keeping our shops and pubs safe.
  
  
• The Town Centre Partnership.
  
  
• Newbury Events Programme through till December 31st.
  

A PDF copy of the brochure is available from the Town Centre Partnership website by following this link
http://newburytowncentre.co.uk/towncentrenewsletter.pdf

Positive comments on the forum would be appreciated.
Negative comments will be tolerated.

Interesting that it says

What will the Newbury BID deliver?
It's up to the businesses in the BID area to decide

I would have thought deciding why the money needs to be raised would be one of the first items on the project plan.

Quoted from user23.3

Interesting that it says

What will the Newbury BID deliver?
It's up to the businesses in the BID area to decide

I would have thought deciding why the money needs to be raised would be one of the first items on the project plan.

I'm in danger of agreeing with you too many times this weekend!!!

Quoted from richard.garvie

I'm in danger of agreeing with you too many times this weekend!!!

Well it seems you and Jonesy are best mates now.

Quoted from Greenham Common

Well it seems you and Jonsey are best mates now.

If you can't beat them...

Quoted from user23.3

If you can't beat them...

Not on your life!!!

Quoted from Greenham Common

Well it seems you and Jonsey are best mates now.

No danger of that!!! I've said that it's time for everyone to work together in the interests of the district. If the administration decide to carry on as they were prior to the election, we will continue to provide an alternative voice.

Quoted from richard.garvie

No danger of that!!! I've said that it's time for everyone to work together in the interests of the district. If the administration decide to carry on as they were prior to the election, we will continue to provide an alternative voice.

So no changes for Newbury then?  

Can we have the CCTV debacle cover up review now then?  

Can we see the final plans for the pigeon Loft Pavillion too?  

Etc Etc?  

It looks like the Newsletter has attracted some comments which is a positive result - the more communication about the town centre the better if we are ever to increase transparency and work together for a brighter future.

Quoted from NewburyP

It looks like the Newsletter has attracted some comments which is a positive result - the more communication about the town centre the better if we are ever to increase transparency and work together for a brighter future.

It has attracted a lot of interest as well. I created the PDF and put it on the Town Centre website at approx 2.00pm yesterday afternoon (8th May). By 10.00pm today (9th May) it had been downloaded 312 times.

Quoted from Administrator

Negative comments will be tolerated.

How do they expect any credibility when they can't spell "improvement" (bottom of page 2).

I have long suspected that the town planners don't know the meaning of improvement when it comes to Newbury. The fact that they can't even spell it correctly seems to back this up.

Quoted from Archie

How do they expect any credibility when they can't spell "improvement" (bottom of page 2).

I have long suspected that the town planners don't know the meaning of improvement when it comes to Newbury. The fact that they can't even spell it correctly seems to back this up.

I'm sure they know the meaning of improvement, it's just a different meaning from the one you or I might use.

Quoted from Archie

How do they expect any credibility when they can't spell "improvement" (bottom of page 2).

I have long suspected that the town planners don't know the meaning of improvement when it comes to Newbury. The fact that they can't even spell it correctly seems to back this up.

Has the BID got anything to do with town planners?

Quoted from user23.3

Has the BID got anything to do with town planners?

No, the BID will be down to the businesses within the defined BID area. It will be up to them how to spend any money raised. Before the businesses vote for / against the BID a plan will be put forward outlining the objectives; the BID committee will have to deliver on the plan.

Quoted from user23.3

Has the BID got anything to do with town planners?

Do we have any town planners?

Quoted from NewburyP

No, the BID will be down to the businesses within the defined BID area. It will be up to them how to spend any money raised. Before the businesses vote for / against the BID a plan will be put forward outlining the objectives; the BID committee will have to deliver on the plan.

The BID was discussed at length at the NRA meeting last night. If the Newbury BID is successful, a 1% levy would achieve between two hundred thousand and two hundred and fifty thousand pounds per annum for up to five years. Various suggestions were put forward as to what this money could be used for.

Perhaps the members of this forum could put forward some additional suggestions as to what this money could be used for. The money has to be used for additional facilities/services which are not provided as a statutory requirement by West Berkshire/Newbury Town Councils.

Salary for the BID manager and operational expenses have to come out of any money raised.

As a side issue on this, the Newbury Christmas lights are to enjoy their last year this Christmas when the current arrangement runs out.

For future years:

1. Should Newbury Town Council still provide this facility (Paid for by the Council Tax Payer)?

2. Should the retailers be expected to cover the cost?

3. Is this one of the things that a successful bid should provide?

4. Should Newbury not bother with Christmas lights?

Retailers should pay for the lights.

My view on the BID would be to focus on marketing, events and promotions which are all deeisgned to attract visitors to the town and to keep them here for longer. This benefits all businesses in the town. In addition to this I suggest some monies are put aside for other improvements, such as new signs, seats and greenery (hanging baskets etc) - anything to make visiting the town a better experience than shopping online at home or at a supermarket.

Christmas lights should be a part of this, although personally I think the Council should contribute 50%. Christmas Lights are not just for retailers they are for the public at large, they make a town a more attractive place to be which again is good for all businesses as we can prevent our residents from travelling elsewhere.

Quoted from NewburyP

Christmas lights should be a part of this, although personally I think the Council should contribute 50%. Christmas Lights are not just for retailers they are for the public at large, they make a town a more attractive place to be which again is good for all businesses as we can prevent our residents from travelling elsewhere.

Similarly, the BID is not just for retailers, so purely doing things to boost footfall would be wrong.

Nearly 20,000 people commute into Newbury every day. Perhaps the BID could pay for free parking for lowpaid jobs. That keeps costs down, and instantly creates 20,000 people with good things to say about us.

I agree with Christmas lights being 100% funded by local enterprise.

Interesting that our BID is not to be used for statutory functions.

In Reading, they used BID money to embark on a massive street cleaning project, which I believe is a statutory waste function of WBC.

Bring back 'The Cattle Market'!

Quoted from dodgy

Bring back 'The Cattle Market'!

What and anger animal rights activists

Quoted from John C

What and anger animal rights activists

Yep!

Quoted from BrianB

The BID was discussed at length at the NRA meeting last night. If the Newbury BID is successful, a 1% levy would achieve between two hundred thousand and two hundred and fifty thousand pounds per annum for up to five years. Various suggestions were put forward as to what this money could be used for.

Perhaps the members of this forum could put forward some additional suggestions as to what this money could be used for. The money has to be used for additional facilities/services which are not provided as a statutory requirement by West Berkshire/Newbury Town Councils.

Salary for the BID manager and operational expenses have to come out of any money raised.



As a side issue on this, the Newbury Christmas lights are to enjoy their last year this Christmas when the current arrangement runs out.8

For future years:

1. Should Newbury Town Council still provide this facility (Paid for by the Council Tax Payer)?

2. Should the retailers be expected to cover the cost?

3. Is this one of the things that a successful bid should provide?

4. Should Newbury not bother with Christmas lights?

This seems a bit peculiar that there is discussion about what to do with any money raised from the BID. Surely this should the other way around. The services that the BID support should be the reason for implementing it not starting and employing a manager and then deciding how to spend what is raised. The way things look at the moment leave it ripe for another tax without any value. I find it difficult to vote for a tax that has no decided value.

Quoted from Bartholomew

This seems a bit peculiar that there is discussion about what to do with any money raised from the BID. Surely this should the other way around. The services that the BID support should be the reason for implementing it not starting and employing a manager and then deciding how to spend what is raised. The way things look at the moment leave it ripe for another tax without any value. I find it difficult to vote for a tax that has no decided value.

Hmmmm, interesting!

Quoted from Bartholomew

This seems a bit peculiar that there is discussion about what to do with any money raised from the BID. Surely this should the other way around. The services that the BID support should be the reason for implementing it not starting and employing a manager and then deciding how to spend what is raised. The way things look at the moment leave it ripe for another tax without any value. I find it difficult to vote for a tax that has no decided value.

The reason is it has already been decided who will have the say and makes decisions therefore get on and decide what the money should be spent on? Straight forward no problem as usual?  

Quoted from Cognosco

The reason is it has already been decided who will have the say and makes decisions therefore get on and decide what the money should be spent on? Straight forward no problem as usual?  

So everyone votes for a tax that doesn't yet have anything to spend it on apart from the administration and salaries of the employed staff!
If this is the start of the BID, it seems like the usual chaos that seems to ensue in Newbury will continue with everyone blaming everyone else for not making decisions and the varied expectations of those contributing will most likely not be met.

Personally, I don't think that any vote on tax collection should take place until it is clear what the BID will deliver and what the benefits are. Maybe the first vote should be on the specific aims, objectives and deliverables of the BID and a second vote on implementing any collection. That way the whole process will probably have the majority of people feeling included.

If it is implemented properly a BID can be very beneficial but I don't see this here the way its being approached now.

Quoted from Bartholomew

Personally, I don't think that any vote on tax collection should take place until it is clear what the BID will deliver and what the benefits are. Maybe the first vote should be on the specific aims, objectives and deliverables of the BID and a second vote on implementing any collection. That way the whole process will probably have the majority of people feeling included.

I thought the first vote had already taken place and was used to decide what to include in Newbury BID - Business Plan 2012 - 2017?

Quoted from user23.3

I thought the first vote had already taken place and was used to decide what to include in Newbury BID - Business Plan 2012 - 2017?

If that's the case why where the NRA talking about what the money could be used for?

Quoted from user23.3

I thought the first vote had already taken place and was used to decide what to include in Newbury BID - Business Plan 2012 - 2017?

If you are referring to the business plan on the newburybid.com website, this doesn't give any specific projects. In fact it is very unclear to me what the BID will do other than "make an attractive town centre", Christmas lights and a few business money saving initiatives. In the budget the projects it shows are very limited and unclear but the expenses are very clear.

I don't understand what anyone is voting for apart apart from "Spreading the word", "Getting out and about" and "Attractive town centre".  As far as I can see, the first is a marketing exercise, I really don't understand the second and the third delivers something. Maybe the BID team can make the deliverables a bit clearer and more obvious.

As I said, the idea of A BID is attractive if it delivers a better town centre. I'm not sure that its obvious what they are likely to do in Newbury, especially if various groups are still discussing what to do with the income raised.  

Quoted from Bartholomew

So everyone votes for a tax that doesn't yet have anything to spend it on apart from the administration and salaries of the employed staff!

Not everyone, only businesses that are in the BID area. It is not a tax on the residents of Newbury, even if they live in the BID area. If you are one of the business owners, then you are included but if not why are you concerned about what they spend the collected money on and who administers it, that's down to those same business owners if they wish to put themselves up to serve.

Quoted from brian

Not everyone, only businesses that are in the BID area. It is not a tax on the residents of Newbury, even if they live in the BID area. If you are one of the business owners, then you are included but if not why are you concerned about what they spend the collected money on and who administers it, that's down to those same business owners if they wish to put themselves up to serve.

Its not only the business owners that are affected but also the taxpayers and residents where initiatives such as the "Vision" cause such fundamental changes that livelihoods are put at risk and the character of the town could and has been severely affected. Saying that it is nothing to do with those not involved in voting on the BID is a fallacy. We are all affected by it either by the way the town changes or the taxpayer money that has been and will be put into it.

The money that they are likely to collect has no direction at the moment. Looking at other organisations (Chamber of Commerce, Newbury Retail Association, Town Centre Partnership etc) they have cost taxpayers money (WBC puts my  money into these as it has done with the BID - look who's paying the costs incurred so far) and in many case have been directed and controlled by WBC and other key characters.  

I am also concerned because any money that goes to the BID is money that businesses need and expect to recover in some way. As a resident and customer I end up paying more for this when retail prices are increased.

I really am in favour of the concept what I am concerned about is that the implementation doesn't like its going to deliver much and doesn't look cost effective.  

Quoted from brian

Not everyone, only businesses that are in the BID area. It is not a tax on the residents of Newbury, even if they live in the BID area. If you are one of the business owners, then you are included but if not why are you concerned about what they spend the collected money on and who administers it, that's down to those same business owners if they wish to put themselves up to serve.

Excuse me if I seem doubtful about this!
How many times in the past have we heard statements like this and how much has it cost taxpayers for similar organisation that have sprung up?

My feeling is that it will only mean the same people who want to control Newbury get more funding to do so.

Does not what happens in the town center affect all taxpayers to some extent so why leave something as important as that to a few businesses?
As this is what has fundamentaly gone wrong in the past I think more thought needs to be given to the scheme.

At the moment not for or against, apart from ensuring a small minority don't run Newbury, but fail to see exactly what it is trying to acheive.

i would be far more willing to say good idea if there were clear pathways made but it seems its just someone has heard of a Bid elsewhere so we should have one too? As usual with Newbury?

The BID is funded by the business owners. What it is trying to acheive are improvements to provide a safe and viable business area. The BID has objectives which are supplementary to the provision of services by WBC. The business owners are already entitled to the normal maintenance and refurbishment of the area which would be provided by WBC. lighting, policing, cleaning etc because they pay their rates (council tax) just like the rest of us. I'm not quite sure why Bartholomew and Cognosco feel that the business owners shouldn't have, as a group, a say in how the area works.
I agree that our town centre is not only for the shopkeepers, it is also for us, the public, but do we believe that the shopkeepers are going to use the money to ring the area with barbed wire to keep the customers out. Of course not, it is in the interest of the BID to improve the area for the visitors and because of that, then they will then attact people who might want to go elsewhere to shop.
Once again, it seems that the belief is that a few people run the town centre and that may or may not be true but would you believe that they are doing it to the detriment of the town. To be realistic, the people who run the town are WBC. They are the group who decide if we will have a new shopping centre or where the buses and taxis will run from and to and if we should have cobbles or tarmac. They, WBC, may pop along to the various groups, TCP or the Retail Association or the Town Council to try to drum up support for their plans and sometimes try to do this in a way which deflects the fallout towards those groups rather than towards themselves.
As far as the concern that the cost of the bid will fall back on the shoppers, well in a way, that is the case, but the business owners already pay a great deal of money in Rates and the BID is a very small amount on top. This extra will not, or should not affect retail prices otherwise, if it did, the shops would not be competitive. The premise is that extra customers through their doors will make up for the investment plus as a body, they can negotiate better terms for such things as rubbish collection, publicity, events and group security.

Quoted from brian

The BID is funded by the business owners. What it is trying to acheive are improvements to provide a safe and viable business area. The BID has objectives which are supplementary to the provision of services by WBC. The business owners are already entitled to the normal maintenance and refurbishment of the area which would be provided by WBC. lighting, policing, cleaning etc because they pay their rates (council tax) just like the rest of us. I'm not quite sure why Bartholomew and Cognosco feel that the business owners shouldn't have, as a group, a say in how the area works.
I agree that our town centre is not only for the shopkeepers, it is also for us, the public, but do we believe that the shopkeepers are going to use the money to ring the area with barbed wire to keep the customers out. Of course not, it is in the interest of the BID to improve the area for the visitors and because of that, then they will then attact people who might want to go elsewhere to shop.
Once again, it seems that the belief is that a few people run the town centre and that may or may not be true but would you believe that they are doing it to the detriment of the town. To be realistic, the people who run the town are WBC. They are the group who decide if we will have a new shopping centre or where the buses and taxis will run from and to and if we should have cobbles or tarmac. They, WBC, may pop along to the various groups, TCP or the Retail Association or the Town Council to try to drum up support for their plans and sometimes try to do this in a way which deflects the fallout towards those groups rather than towards themselves.
As far as the concern that the cost of the bid will fall back on the shoppers, well in a way, that is the case, but the business owners already pay a great deal of money in Rates and the BID is a very small amount on top. This extra will not, or should not affect retail prices otherwise, if it did, the shops would not be competitive. The premise is that extra customers through their doors will make up for the investment plus as a body, they can negotiate better terms for such things as rubbish collection, publicity, events and group security.

I think that you completely missed the point I was making. The business owners are obviously fully entitled to a say in how the area works. The issue is the way in which this is to be achieved.
I said that I am in favour of the principle of a BID. What I am concerned about is that we as tax payers will, once again, be paying through WBC (yes they do contribute to the BID and have done to get it to this point - any idea how much so far?) for an unknown benefit. If the BID business plan was more obvious in what the benefits are it would be easier to be positive about it. Yes there are minor things such as collective purchasing and rubbish collection but is this value for money? What does the BID really intend to achieve? If its to increase footfall and retail profits, then a lot more than what is described in the business plan is needed.

Brian, you have made a few false assumptions here and clearly are defensive but can you really tell all here the business plan as described will deliver significant improvements to Newbury businesses? A "safe and viable business area" as you describe it is not what I see in the BID budget.  

Quoted from Bartholomew

Brian, you have made a few false assumptions here and clearly are defensive but can you really tell all here the business plan as described will deliver significant improvements to Newbury businesses? A "safe and viable business area" as you describe it is not what I see in the BID budget.  

I would hope that I'm not seen as defensive about the BID. It seems to me that several of the people posting on here have mis understood what a BID is, mainly as far as I can see, assuming it was a tax on the population as a whole. I can only assume that they haven't bothered to research what it is, or could be if it works properly.
I have no axe to grind and I am not a retailer or business person in the BID area but I do believe that proper self regulation is the way to go and perhaps the group might have the clout to tell WBC what they want rather than accepting crumbs off the table.

As far as "Safe and viable" I took that from page 19 of the BID business plan.
http://www.newburybid.com/brochure/index.html#/18/
Town centre wardens . Smart uniformed prescence.........etc.

Quoted from brian

I would hope that I'm not seen as defensive about the BID. It seems to me that several of the people posting on here have mis understood what a BID is, mainly as far as I can see, assuming it was a tax on the population as a whole. I can only assume that they haven't bothered to research what it is, or could be if it works properly.
I have no axe to grind and I am not a retailer or business person in the BID area but I do believe that proper self regulation is the way to go and perhaps the group might have the clout to tell WBC what they want rather than accepting crumbs off the table.

As far as "Safe and viable" I took that from page 19 of the BID business plan.
http://www.newburybid.com/brochure/index.html#/18/
Town centre wardens . Smart uniformed prescence.........etc.

You have made some assumptions here about others saying that it is a tax on the population. We all know that its the businesses that will vote and pay the direct tax. We, as residents, will also pay indirectly with the council contributing as they do to other organisations.

Your stance in a previous post was asking what its got to do with anyone who is not in business in Newbury. I have explained that it has a lot do with it and you then agreed.

I would be more than happy if this BID was successful. I am and have been questioning why businesses are voting for something that is not properly defined and in fact the NRA are still discussing what the income could be used for. I would have thought that the currently poorly defined aims of the BID need to be properly understood before voting for the levy takes place.

With regard to having the "clout to tell WBC what they want" there have been a number of organisations that have been independent enough to do this but the self regulation you talk about hasn't happened. The Newbury Retail Association could have done exactly this but couldn't organise themselves to do this. I hope the BID is different and is successful.