PB 1Renewal Consultation Document 2015

YOURSAY

YOURBID

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WHO WE ARE 3HOW HAVE WE COME UP WITH THESE INITIATIVES ? 4-7TOP FIVE PRIORITIES 8-9SUCCESS IN A SNAPSHOT 10-11SAFE & SECURE 12-13EVENTS & ACTIVITIES 14-15MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 16-17CLEAN & GREEN 18-19SMART TRAVEL & PUBLIC REALM 20-21NEXT STEPS 22-23APPENDIX 24-31

WHO WE

ARE

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HammersmithLondon BID is a democratically elected,

business-led & business-funded body, formed to improve

a defined commercial area. First established in 2006, it is one of the oldest Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in the country, which has also successfully renewed its mandate in March 2011. Led by member businesses, the BID represents 381 hereditaments (i.e. number of voters) and c. 336 businesses with rateable value over £40,000.

Since 2006, the BID has

invested £3.7m through the BID Levy in Hammersmith town centre and is investing another £3.7m through Levy in its current five year term.

The team at HammersmithLondon work in close partnership with various public and community organisations including the Council, Metropolitan Police and Transport for London (TfL). The BID is a partner in the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy (EDS) for London that places much importance on the BID to ‘place-shape’ local town centres in Partnership with business.

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HOW HAVE WE COME UP WITH THESE INITIATIVES?

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Over the past 18 months, we have been consulting with member businesses, leaders and decision makers,

employees from the BID companies, holding regular stakeholder meetings such as Pubwatch, Transport Forum and organising gatherings with big cultural and retail players in the area to ascertain whether we have successfully delivered the projects and promises set out in our 2011 - 2016 business plan and to understand what projects and services they would like to see over the next five year term.

We sought to examine every aspect of the BID’s mandate as well as asking members what more they would like us to do in the area.

During the consultations we were successful in establishing contact with almost 70% of businesses, using a range of different methods:

One-on-one meetings Phone

conversationsGroup forums

QuestionnairesFeedback forms

Feedback gathered via the BID’s Ambassador

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We are proud to say that the overwhelming majority support the BID’s workand have indicated they would vote for another five-year-term for HammersmithLondon to continue operating for the benefit of all in the area.

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As you can see from the graph left, we consulted with a cross-section of businesses from the

retail, leisure and office

sector which we believe is a good representation of the town centre.

This report provides a summary of our findings and some key statistics which emerged

from the consultation and from data collected over the past 18 months.

Some new projects have been shortlisted based on a feedback from the Board members. Several projects have been suggested by BID team members based on what they have seen elsewhere and which they believe will address the stakeholders’ needs. A number of new projects have evolved from ongoing activities.

All of this has been so that we know what the businesses want so we can

better serve the Hammersmith Town Centre. The Appendix provides a copy of our consultation questionnaire.

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TOP FIVE PRIORITIES

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The top five priorities that emerged from the consultation were:

Ensuring that Hammersmith remains

SAFE & SECUREIncreasing the energy of the town centre through

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Using MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS to promote

businesses and the area

Keeping Hammersmith CLEAN & GREEN

by adding vibrancy and colour to the town centre

Promoting SMART TRAVEL & enhancing

the PUBLIC REALM

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SUCCESS IN A SNAPSHOT

Winners of 2 Gold London

in Bloom Awards & overall category winners for

Best BID and Best Town Centre

250 tonnes of recycling diverted from landfill in 2014

Introduced free Wi-Fi in Lyric Square

Introduced brand new digital LED lighting displays across the town centre for Christmas

c.4,000 users visit our two Hammersmith websites a month

Played a pivotal role in highlighting the benefits of a tunnel in Hammersmith through the publication

of the BID’s Economic Report

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Association of Town & City Management

BID of the Year 2014

More than 8,000 people

now hold Privilege Cards

Wrapped more than 2,300 Hammersmith-bought items as part of our free Christmas gift wrapping offer in 2014 alone

9,152 additional police officer hours on patrol in the BID area

2,000 hours covered by

dedicated BID CCTV Operator in 2014

Three Safer Business Awards, recognising a superb and well-run crime reduction partnership

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SAFE & SECURE...

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As a part of our Business Crime Partnership programme we work

with the Council to fund additional police officers,

provide a dedicated BID CCTV Operator, operate a Safetynet Radio

system, offer a Pubwatch & Shopwatch scheme to reduce

offences in the town centre and organise periodic

sting operations.

Businesses have told us that the extra police presence has had a positive impact as it makes the town feel safe and would support any initiatives that continue to do this.

We will continue to run the Pubwatch & Retailwatch schemes as they

are greatly valued by members. Ninety-two offenders have been banned from the town’s pubs and shops for a total of 163 years. As the Safer Business Crime Partnership grows, the town’s safety increases and provides a good platform to increase awareness among the pubs and shops.

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EVENTS & ACTIVITIES...

Over the past 8 years, we have worked to improve Hammersmith town centre and high street in a variety

of ways including the use of art and culture. We have organised

a series of eclectic events and activities to invigorate the town centre, helping it to become a destination in its own right. These

have included fun events, Theatre in the Square, London Festival of Architecture, treasure hunts, pop

up shops, window dressing, festive banners, street competitions, reading clubs and a big screen on Lyric Square. The BID have worked

with Lyric to bring new original pieces of theatre in the form of Theatre to the Square as well as promote free first nights, special business evenings at the Lyric and cultural tours at the Eventim Apollo.

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Our annual Summer Festival draws thousands of people into the area, our free Christmas wrapping programme encourages further

spend in the town centre and over 8,000 people use their Privilege Cards at the town’s retailers

The feedback from businesses has been overwhelmingly positive. Businesses love our programme and want us to maintain and build on the existing offer. We will do all this whilst also exploring new and innovative ways to further improve the programme.

Furthermore We will develop the ‘digital high street’ by exploring initiatives such as click and collect and targeted

promotion with state of the art technology for business and consumers. This will further broaden Hammersmith’s offer for the benefit of retailers as well as workers, residents and visitors.

We want to continue to utilise the town’s empty units by increasing the number of window dressing schemes and pop-up shops. We have built a strong relationship with Imperial College London after working

with them on a successful two-week long Heart & Lung Pop-Up Shop in Kings Mall in 2014, and plan to build on this partnership by implementing new innovative schemes.

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We intend to build on the popularity of our bespoke App and plan to update and upgrade it using the

latest technology available for the ‘digital high street’.

The BID team has created a strong digital presence for Hammersmith and is in a unique position to be able to promote

Hammersmith and its businesses through a robust and targeted marketing strategy.

Our two websites attract 4,000 users a month, we

have more than 5,000 followers on social media, we distribute

a bi-annual printed newsletter, our events attract great press coverage and over 8,000 subscribers receive our weekly email communications.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS...

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Retailers, in particular, greatly value the way the BID promotes the area through

its Hammersmith-focused marketing strategy that informs workers, residents

and visitors about the Hammersmith offer. Businesses have told us they appreciate our newsletters and

forums as they feel included and better informed about the area.

We have received very positive feedback on our pilot Ambassador programme for the town

centre. Businesses have suggested we roll it out a long-term basis, as it not only helps brand the area but is invaluable for reporting issues and is another great way for us to communicate with the businesses.

The marketing and communications part of our portfolio is something businesses want us to continue and expand upon in a big way especially since our recent events and activities received coverage in titles such as Time Out and the Evening Standard, helping to promote the area to a wider-audience.

Likewise many also request and appreciate the local business networking events the BID arranges.

Businesses have frequently asked us to help them realise their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agendas while non-

profits have asked us for ways to get more engagement from businesses. We are currently working on developing a pilot scheme that will encourage successful partnerships between businesses and local charities by helping match up businesses with local projects that tie in with their CSR agenda.

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CLEAN & GREEN...

Ensuring that Hammersmith is a clean and pleasant place to work, live and visit is of the upmost importance

to the BID. We believe it makes the town centre more vibrant and increases pride in the area.

We provide a free recycling scheme

for our levy-payers, festive lights in the town centre, hanging baskets and planters, a

Christmas tree in Lyric Square and are constantly seeking to improve the town’s green infrastructure through developments such as the

HammersmithLondon Roof Garden the at Lyric.

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CLEAN & GREEN...

Prior to the BID’s first ballot, businesses told us that Hammersmith looked ‘grey’ and having green spaces, street cleaning and ‘green’ solutions would help to attract and retain employees and

clients as well as attract new businesses. After almost a decade of promoting sustainability and improving the

green offer in Hammersmith, levy-payers are delighted by the town’s progress, but want even more to combat the grey of the area. We can do this by increasing the number of baskets and planted areas and providing extra street cleansing.

The BID in conjunction with the Council is also investigating proposals to monitor and

improve air quality through greening projects in certain locations in the town that would

benefit from the implementation of green corridors or walls.

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SMART TRAVEL & PUBLIC REALM...

In addition to encouraging BID members to use the efficient transport system, the cities and towns of

tomorrow have to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Smarter travel, pedestrian friendly public realms, better ways of

recycling and managing supplies are some of the ways that are being adopted to achieve this. The BID will support, promote and participate in efforts that will help Hammersmith businesses and town centre reduce its carbon footprint.

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We provide free Zipcar memberships, free Dr Bike workshops, quarterly Transport Forums, we commissioned a Flyunder Economic Study and are active stakeholders in numerous groups

and developments that have the potential to change the future look and feel of the town centre.

The BID’s green transport programme is constantly expanding as businesses tell us how important it is

for them to encourage smarter travel. We are exploring ways to consolidate deliveries within the town centre to help reduce carbon emissions from road freight and have been in discussion

with Transport for London about different methods that could be adopted in Hammersmith.

We will continue to work with Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Transport for

London to educate and provide updates to businesses on the latest travel and transport interventions. This includes consultations on the Better Junctions

programme/Daughter of Cycle Superhighway 9, which will see drastic improvements to the cycling routes in Hammersmith. We will continue to back and support the council’s plans for the tunnelled by-pass to reconnect the town centre with the river by engaging with businesses, by our membership of West London Link and by organising consultation events to glean how businesses would like to see the improvement of the public realm and retail offer along King Street.

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NEXT STEPS

Now - June 2015

Consultation and business meetings continue

September 2015

Production of Business Proposal for Term 3

February 2016

Renewal Ballot

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YOUR BID, YOUR SAY Let us know what more we can do to ensure Hammersmith remains a thriving town centre?

TELL US…DO YOU LIKE THESE PROJECTS

TELL US…WHAT OTHER PROJECTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE

TELL US…WOULD YOU LIKE US TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY

If you want to comment on anything in the consultation report or have any further suggestions,

please contact us at info@hammersmithlondon.co.uk or call us on 020 3362 4626HammersmithLondon, Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King Street, London W6 0QL

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APPENDIX

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This is the Renewal Consultation form used by the BID team in its one-to-one meetings:

Renewal Consultation Questionnaire

Meeting with : __________________ Name of Business

:____________________

Date : __________________ Your initials : ____________________

Do you know about our Projects?

o Yes o No o Don’t Know

Which of the BID’s projects do you like/ think make a real difference to the

town centre (please rate - 1 is the highest)

PROTECT IMPROVE ENERGISE CONNECT

o Extra Security o Free

Recycling

o Summer

Festival

o Website

o Pub watch/ Retail

W

o Flower

Baskets

o Christmas

Lights

o e-newsletters

o Dedicated PC’s o Planted areas o Other Events o Other

Campaigns

o I Love Lunch o Free Walks

Should the BID continue with these project areas?

Are there any Projects that the BID should consider dropping in the next term?

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Are there any projects that the BID should do in addition to these?

Any other comments or suggestions

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

WAS THIS PERSON THE VOTER?

o Yes o No o Don’t Know

The voter is: ________________________________

TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU THINK THIS BUSINESS SUPPORTS THE BID?

o Greatly

support

(Firm yes)

o Support

(Undecided

yes)

o Against

(Undecided

No)

o Greatly

against

(Firm no)

o Don’t

Know

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SAMPLE CONSULTATION RESULTS:

Businesses referred to the importance of multiple project areas, but Protect was by the far the most popular, with 70% saying this was a priority area for them.

38% of businesses said that the Summer Festival was important, making the biggest impact in the town centre, although closely followed by the BID’s dedicated PCs.

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ONLINE BUSINESS SURVEY

This is the online business survey sent out to BID employees:

1) Name of organisation

2) Name & job title

3) Email address

4) How do you get to work?

5) Do you use click & collect in Hammersmith? – yes, no, don’t know

6) Have you ever used your mobile phone to pay for items in store?

7) Do Hammersmith town centre events such as the Summer Festival & Christmas Wrapping positively affect your attitude of working in Hammersmith? Yes, no, maybe.

8) Do you like working in Hammersmith? If yes, why?

9) What are the priority areas for your business / you working in Hammersmith? (1 = most priority, 9= least priority)

• Making the area safe & secure?

• Making the area cleaner & greener?

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• Connecting with other businesses?

• Lobbying with the council?

• Business Cost-saving?

• Local offers and Deals via Privilege Card?

• Connecting with charitable causes?

• Reducing the firm’s carbon footprint?

• Sustainable transport initiatives

10) Would you support five more years of the BID? Yes, no, don’t know

SOME SAMPLE SURVEY RESULTS

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Business Priority Areas:

(1=most important)

1) Making the area safe & secure

2) Making the area cleaner & greener

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3) Connecting with other businesses

4) Deals & local offers

5) Lobbying with the council

6) Business cost saving

7) Connecting with charitable causes

8) Sustainable transport initiatives

9) Reducing carbon footprint

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HammersmithLondon BIDLyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, London W6 0QL

Telephone: 020 3362 4626

hammersmithlondonbid.co.uk