St Austell BID was reelected for a third term on the 8th of December 2022.
76% in favour 84% by rateable value.
The new 5-year term begins on the 1st of April 2023
For a decade, St Austell BID has successfully delivered projects and services that businesses have identified as priorities and has continued to do so throughout the pandemic, supporting the town through a challenging time for us all. St Austell BID would like to thank all businesses and other partners in the town for the time and support they have given over the past five years which have enabled these initiatives to be successfully delivered.
Under BID legislation, St Austell BID has been renewed for a further five years from April 2023 – March 2028. Every business with a rateable value of £5,000 and over, situated within the BID boundary pays a 2.25% levy on their business rates based on the April 2017 – March 2023 rating list.
In April 2022, St Austell BID ran an early survey with a cross-section of businesses from across the boundary and from different sectors to determine the appetite for a third term and to establish some early priorities; encouragingly, the majority of respondents supported the BID continuing and 79% said that the BID had made a positive difference to St Austell.
We used this feedback to prepare our St Austell BID 3rd Term Consultation 2022 where we proposed the themes that would be part of the next business plan to be delivered from April 2023 subject to a positive vote. All respondents supported our vision and the majority agreed that the project themes were the right ones for St Austell BID’s third term with Safe & Secure being ranked as a key priority.
Overall, 62% of all levy-paying businesses engaged in the consultation through relaying their feedback in person or by completing the third term questionnaire – 92% of survey respondents said they supported a third term and would vote ‘yes’.
Our third-term business plan has been shaped by the views of our levy-paying businesses. All eligible levy payers within the BID boundary received a hard copy or virtual copy in October 2022.
Please read through this business plan, taking note of our vision, aims and objectives, all informed by our business community. To read what businesses in the town think about St Austell BID scroll down to the bottom of this page.
St Austell BID will generate over £460K of funding over the five-year term from the levy alone with substantive additional contributions secured and sought for during the five-year term. In the current term, St Austell BID has generated an additional 50 pence for every £1 of levy payers’ income.
If you do have any questions about the BID do drop us a line by emailing Annette Miller at staustellbid@gmail.com or telephone 01726 467498
Thank you for your contribution and for being part of an exciting future for St Austell.
St Austell BID team
Baseline – Services provided by statutory organisations within St Austell that have a correlation to the projects that the BID will deliver have been documented. The purpose of this is to ensure that St Austell BID is adding value to current service provision and supporting businesses rather than replacing or duplicating existing services. Cornwall Council, Devon and Cornwall Police and St Austell Town Council baselines will be reviewed each year. For these baselines click here
Testimonials
‘The continued support with the anti-social behaviour in the town is very valuable and makes people feel safe encouraging them to stay longer. The family event days have created a lovely buzz in the town’, Jenny Welsh, Boots
‘We are really pleased with St Austell BID. Even though we are on a first-floor building on the outskirts of town, the patrols that have been introduced have helped us feel safer. Not only have our own staff noted the improved experience, so have our clients when coming in to visit us. We also appreciate the organisation of events in the town to promote community cohesion as well as small businesses, including our own’, Dexter Lawrence, DL Accounts
‘St Austell BID does an excellent job keeping our streets clean, promotion of Christmas activities and St Austell’s South West Bloom award which all help promote the town and bring in additional footfall. With more people in St Austell, local business benefit including our pubs and our visitor centre’, Piers Thompson, St Austell Brewery
‘The Town Council works closely with St Austell BID and has assisted them to deliver security warden patrols, Christmas lights and beautiful flower displays. Crime figures are down and the town is recovering well following the pandemic. No single organisation can provide these services on their own and the Town Council is very grateful to the BID for their continued commitment to collaborative working’, David Pooley, Town Clerk
‘As a town, we are incredibly fortunate to have such an active BID. They manage to provide so much with a very limited budget. The security team have made a noticeable improvement to the town, with many of our tenants commenting that the instances of ASB have decreased with the town having an overall safer feeling. The programme of events which are held throughout the year is of great benefit to all traders, particularly over the summer and the Christmas period. The Christmas lights improve every year and the fantastic hanging baskets and floral displays during the summer really do lift the town. There are also many less visible activities that BID is heavily involved with which all work towards making the town a better place to trade from and to visit,’ Neil Woodward – Managing Agent, Southwest Financial Services
‘St Austell BID are great at partnership working bringing together the views of the councils, the police and the private sector and then taking steps to resolve issues and seize opportunities. Through our collective resources, this has meant St Austell has Storenet radios, a DISC crime reporting system and a security team to complement our policing. Our collaboration which has come about because of St Austell BID has resulted in a much safer town centre with incidents of anti-social behaviour down by a third’, Sergeant 12925 Ian Chambers, St Austell Police Station
‘St Austell BID has really helped to raise the profile of our town making it a more attractive place to live, work and visit. This can only be good news for businesses. It’s important that we keep investing in our town, so I am a big supporter of St Austell BID continuing,’ Allan Clare, AWC Training Ltd and St Austell Chamber of Commerce
‘Who will promote St Austell, coordinate and fund security, organise events and lobby on our behalf if the BID doesn’t continue? You may think you would be better off saving a few pounds but voting ‘no’ would be counterproductive and result in a poorer town for all traders with fewer visitors. Ultimately, that means less money spent in our pubs and restaurants,’ Ameena Williams, White Hart Hotel
‘Events supported and run with St Austell BID have encouraged higher footfall numbers, including Christmas Light Switch On. The joined-up working of BID security with our security has improved the street safety through the town centre. White River Place are committed to supporting St Austell BID throughout its next five-year term’, Bill Holland, Centre Manager, White River Place
‘Businesses in St Austell could always benefit from more customers. BID is doing its bit to encourage footfall into the town. Without the BID, our trading prospects would be much worse. Let’s face it, most good initiatives designed to promote and improve our town would fold. I am an advocate for the BID continuing,’ David Rescorla Wetherspoons’
‘I am delighted that St Austell Leisure Centre will be part of St Austell BID. We are delighted to support any projects that improve the surroundings for the local community and keen to work in partnership with the BID and other organisations’, Tristan Knight, General Manager, St Austell Leisure Centre
‘St Austell BID team have greatly supported Studio 4 Dance CIC and its growth as a business. They make a huge impact on the town and St Austell is a better place with them. The St Austell BID has really supported our business growth and our move into Vicarage Place. The BID team are a real asset to our town centre. Thank you for making St Austell town centre a better place’ Alice Walker, Studio 4 Dance CIC