A plan to pump £1.5m to improve Derby’s Cathedral Quarter during the next five years has been approved.
This is to be the third time cash for the Business Improvement District (BID) has been approved and is based on the last 10 years of success that the Cathedral Quarter has had.
Levy payments, voluntary, private and public-sector contributions are how the Cathedral Quarter will make up the £1.5 million that is going to be invested.
A (BID) plan requires businesses in a defined geographical area to vote to collectively improve the local trading environment.
Businesses with a rateable value of £6,000 and above will make levy payments of 2% of rateable value, while businesses with a rateable value of between £2,000 and £5,999 will pay a fixed rate of £105.
If the rateable value is less than £2,000 the business is not expected to make any levy payments at all.
The chair of the Cathedral Quarter BID, Martin Langsdale said: “Thursday, March 1st therefore marks the start of a new exciting era for this individual, diverse and inspiring part of the city centre.
“Since winning awards for both the ATCM National BID of the Year and the Great British High Street Award for best city location in 2016, we have been contacted by many other towns and cities who see us as a model of good practice whilst the reputation of the Cathedral Quarter continues to grow”
Part of the plan to improve the Cathedral Quarter is focussing on improving the lifestyle experience for visitors and people working in the area.
The aim for the BID is to continue building local, regional and national level reputation of the Cathedral Quarter. This will be down by improving these areas; evening and night time economy, retail, hair and beauty and leisure.
Mr Langsdale added: “The new BID will see a wide range of activities including the continuation of the valued Ranger team, work to raise the profile of all areas of the Cathedral Quarter and targeted work to tackle issues of street cleaning and business crime.
“By further developing our partnership work with organisations such as Derby City Council, Marketing Derby and Derbyshire Police, we are confident that we can make the Cathedral Quarter an even more desirable destination of choice for visitors and businesses alike.”
Speaking to local people about what they thought about the recent BID announcement Deborah Hall, aged 39 who works in retail, said: “I do my fair share of shopping at the Cathedral Quarter so I’m pleased to see local businesses pulling together.”
Amy Wright, 23, a Chemist, said: “£1.5 million will massively help the area to improve and continue the good work that the last 10 years has laid a foundation for.”
