BID Champions

Establishing a BID can only be good news for the town. Where else are we going to be able to raise £125,000 per year to be spent on what we say is important to us? The fact that this money will not substitute any council services but be used to provide added value and extra services and improvements that the council are unable to provide is a good thing.

Elwyn Wilkey - Old School Coffee House, Church Lane

As long established professional Estate Agents in the Town where our Head Office is located we fully support the BID process. The Town is on the verge of many exciting retail initiatives and whilst we are a professional service we can see the benefits for our business in increasing tourism, cleanliness and safety in the Town Centre which could attract further inward investment giving Barnstaple a real advantage

Tony Foster, Associate Director, Webbers Estate Agents

Lytton and Lily are supportive of establishing a Business Improvement District in Barnstaple. A BID will provide us with a real opportunity for the town to work together putting in place a range of practical initiatives to enhance Barnstaple. Today's trading is even more competitive with the ease of travelling and new technology enabling more distance selling. The whole town needs to be doing everything we can to attract and retain people in Barnstaple and make it an even more desirable destination that people want to be in. By the business community pulling together, a relatively small individual investment will go a long way to generate a substantial fund to benefit all our businesses and the whole town.

Duncan and Deborah Affleck, Lytton and Lily

A BID gives us a great opportunity to really enhance Barnstaple and fly the flag for the town. We need to make sure we can compete with other towns in the south west and offer people a first class town centre they will want to come back to time and again.

Hilary Gilham, Cafecinos

I believe a BID will provide an opportunity for businesses in Barnstaple to make a real difference. It will enable us to have a say in what we want for the town, to develop ideas and implement practical initiatives to benefit the town as a whole. A BID will raise a substantial amount of additional funds to be spent on what we want, when we want it. Funds raised will have no effect on the existing council funding, it can therefore be used to facilitate sustainable growth within the town.

Peter Banbury, Banburys

As a publisher and design company, we don't rely on footfall outside our office to drive sales, but I want to run my business in a town that is vibrant, clean and safe with lots of things happening creating a good atmosphere. I can see the value a BID would bring in contributing to this and we as businesses have a real opportunity to take Barnstaple forward

Nick Cooper, Managing Director, Salt Media, Cross Street

I believe the BID is a forward thinking, innovative project that is fair to all businesses. By working together and investing collectively, we can have a positive impact on the future prosperity of Barnstaple. We need to make the town more attractive, attract more people and encourage repeat visits and I feel a BID will give us a good platform to do this.

Rob Malek, Chatterbox and Wimpy

I am in favour of establishing a BID as it will give us the funds to put in place specific projects that will really make a positive difference to Barnstaple and benefit the businesses. We need to make sure people come to Barnstaple rather than go to Tiverton, Exeter or Taunton and a BID will help massively with improving the town and promoting it more effectively.

Chris Johnson, Gallery Three Nine, Bear Street

Barnstaple is full of good independent shopping but this needs to be promoted. A successful BID could help with advertising campaigns that would be beyond the budget of most independents. I personally spend more per year already on advertising than I would pay if a BID were to succeed. With the current economic climate as it is, we should be more pro-active. This is a good time to listen and explore any options available to us. To say no to bid at this stage can only be short sighted. We should all at least listen and take the process on through to the next stages so we are making an informed decision when the time comes to vote. Together we can surely achieve far more than we would as individuals.

Gerry Fry, Artstore Gallery, Joy Street

I am supportive of the BID campaign. Whilst not concerned with attracting extra shoppers as such, I want to be running my business in a vibrant town that takes a pride in itself and where the business community works together for the good of Barnstaple. The BID investment for the town has to be good for anyone that has an interest in the town's future.

Guy Murray - Net Tecs Internet Solutions Ltd

Barnstaple has a great opportunity to draw more visitors and regular shoppers alike but will only succeed if we can give the customer what they want and make the whole Barnstaple experience one that will encourage people to come back time and again. I believe a BID would help us achieve this.

Zena Burland, Zena’s Restaurant, Market Street

I believe a BID will give our local businesses the opportunity to improve Barnstaple and therefore help our local economy. If everyone contributes a little, a lot can be done to improve and enhance the town to the enjoyment of all its inhabitants.

James Li, Fullam Restaurant, Tuly Street

I believe a BID would present a massive opportunity for businesses in Barnstaple to work together for the good of the town and to strengthen the local economy. The fact a BID is driven by businesses and delivers on issues identified by them as important is really significant. A BID could help us with the investment required to promote Barnstaple and take it to the next level, attracting more footfall and spend in the town. The fact that all funding raised through a BID would be new investment, over and above that already provided by the public authorities is a major selling point.

Sam Richards, Juice Advertising, Tuly Street

I offer my full support to the establishment of a BID in Barnstaple. By all the businesses in the town centre coming together, we can raise over £600,000 during the 5 year BID term to be invested into the town and spent on what we say is important to us.

Stuart Wood – Woody’s, Boutport Street

I fully support the development of Business Improvement Districts. They give the opportunity for the local business community to take control and implement improvements to their town centre with the obvious positive knock-on effects to the general public’s use, safety and enjoyment of their town.

Stephen Otter, Chief Constable, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

I appreciate that having another expense fills most businesses with horror. However, I am a keen supporter of a BID for Barnstaple because the small extra cost will have a significant and disproportionate benefit to all of the businesses in the Town to spend as we chose. At the moment, not a penny of our Business Rates stays in the local area - it is just a tax. This way, we shall have some say on how a quite sizeable sum of money can be spent on extra projects to benefit Barnstaple Town Centre.

Philip Milton, Philip J Milton and Company plc, Joy Street

I think the proposed BID presents businesses in the town with the opportunity to work together to shape the future agenda in Barnstaple and implement initiatives to make the town more welcoming and attractive which will in turn create a more vibrant town. Through the BID development process, we can all have a say in improving the town and for a relatively small collective investment, we can actually make things happen

Andrew Essery, Digitel Technology Ltd, Cross Street

I think a BID will be a great idea for Barnstaple and will help us to deliver a number of new improvements and services that will benefit our businesses in the town, above and beyond the current services. It's a very fair way of raising funds as the costs are scaled to the size of the businesses; and the fact that a BID will raise more than £600,000 over 5 years to be spent on what we want is a major selling point.

Catherine Bishop, Catherine Bishop, Boutport Street