Waterfront BID

Plymouth Waterfront Partnership are trying to secure a Business Improvement District for Plymouth.

This is a letter I recently wrote to the local newspaper, The Herald, which was published on 20th February.

I WRITE in response to Richard Smith’s letter headlined Our waterfront jewel needs to be polished (February 8th) and others, as I feel the level of comments being published is unbalanced.

I would like to rebalance the scales. Probably as is often the case, the naysayers are vocal, and those who are happy don’t feel the need to speak out. Interestingly, some of those who speak against are actually in favour of the Business Improvement District, but don’t want to pay anything.

I love Plymouth and feel saddened when people are negative and constantly talk it down. We should be proud of our city and strive to make it better. I feel the BID should not be used as a political weapon, and am pleased to see that apart from the odd political activist the BID has cross party support. The vast majority of businesses which belong to the Plymouth Hospitality Association are in favour, and have already voted accordingly.

I own Edgcumbe Guest House in West Hoe. I have followed and been heavily involved in the whole BID process from the outset well over 12 months ago. BIDS are operational worldwide. They are governed by and follow set rules of statute.

These are not schemes which are dreamt up overnight by councils eager to rescind on their obligations. We all agree that in an ideal world, Plymouth City Council should pay for numerous services. However, we do not live in an ideal world and the hard facts are that the size of the pot of money coming to PCC every year is diminishing. A BID will secure and guarantee the levels of service provided by PCC so that they cannot decrease.

It is probably the only chance we are likely to get in securing money to actively market and promote the city and make it a cleaner, safer place to live and work, to bring events and attractions to Plymouth and for business to have a major say in what goes on. Quite simply our golden opportunity to polish our jewel.

The BID process demands that consultations and timescales are strictly adhered to. To that end there have been countless consultations and meetings with businesses within the waterfront area. Every business that pays a non domestic business rate has been invited to fill out questionnaires to identify needs, thoughts and requirements as part of the audit process and contribute to formulating, editing and launching the Business Plan.

It is agreed that we are in a deep recession. It is also acknowledged that those who continue to market and promote themselves come out of a recession in a stronger position than their competitors.

Plymouth is surrounded by towns and cities that are doing just that through their own BIDs. I believe that if we do not make any attempt to not only keep up, but get ahead of the competition, then Plymouth and it’s Waterfront will indeed fail and slip further down the league of desirable destinations for visitors, new businesses, employees and residents.

To this end, I would urge businesses within the Waterfront area to read the Business Plan and vote Yes.

CARLA WILLIAMS