Scotland’s thriving network of business improvement districts (BIDs) are delivering real change and boosting businesses in towns and communities across the country. Traditional town centre BIDs are funded by local businesses via a levy which is invested in to. , a range of improvement projects and initiatives delivered by the BID in their area. The BID model has been successful in several key towns across the country, by business communities taking leadership in their place and working collaboratively to create better places to live, work and visit.
Want to know more about how the BID model works and how it could play a role in your place? Find out more here or contact us today.
Falkirk Delivers
Falkirk Delivers has existed at the heart of town centre activity for 16 years, working with a range of partners to deliver a range of projects to enhance the experience for visitors and locals who live, work and visit the town.
A key ambition for the BID is capitalising on local tourist attractions, such as the world-renowned Falkirk Wheel, Kelpies and Helix Park, and encouraging greater footfall into the town centre by improving connectivity between the attractions and local businesses on the high street. Falkirk Delivers works closely with ‘VisitFalkirk’ and in partnership with VisitScotland to showcase the best of what Falkirk has to offer and to allow visitors to plan a visit, covering everything from where to stay to best places to eat and drink.
Local businesses are at the heart of the Falkirk offering, and the BID works throughout the year to deliver a wide range of activities, events and campaigns that champion local businesses and drive greater footfall into the town centre, including the Falkirk Pub Trail, to shine a light on local nightlife. Combined with the Taking Pride in Falkirk campaign which includes a number of initiatives to improve safety and security, attractiveness and cleanliness, their work positions Falkirk as one of the leading town centres in Scotland.
The BID has also been at the forefront of harnessing the power of digital to unlock spend for local businesses and encourage greater footfall on the high street with the rollout of the District Towns Gift Card Programme, which is part of the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card. With over 160 businesses registered on the scheme, the gift card has been a real success in providing a boost to local businesses whilst giving recipients a wide range of choice on where to spend. The gift card was also used as a means of offering direct support to those struggling with the cost of living crisis during the 2023 festive period.
Go Forth Stirling
Since its first successful ballot in 2017, Go Forth Stirling has been the dedicated voice for raising local business issues in the city, supporting business promotion and making the most of opportunities across Stirling.The BID’s workstreams focus on ‘managing’, ‘maintaining’ and evolving’ activity in the city centre:
Managing
- Free public WIFI for enhanced connectivity in the city centre
- Subsided CPD accredited training and sign posting businesses to training opportunities
- Street ambassadors that patrol the city, liaise with local businesses and provide information for visitors. Read more about the street ambassadors here.
- Footfall monitoring using data collection to analyse the impact of local campaigns
- Lobbying and community engagement to support levy payers
- Business marketing, promoting local businesses and using the dedicated B2B brand which celebrates independent businesses across Stirling. Read more here
Maintaining
- Street auditing, making improvements and ensuring Stirling is an appealing place to live, work and visit
- Shopfront improvement grant schemes to help local businesses
- Pubwatch and radios – working with licensed premises to promote the nightlife scene and ensure enhanced safety.
- Events and campaigns throughout the year to increase footfall and encourage spend with local businesses
- Winter lighting to increase safety and enhance the city’s atmosphere during the festive season
- Projects to tackle vacant units – find out more about Street Stories
- The popular Stirling Business Awards which recognise and profile local businesses – returning for 2025 as announced in Scotland Loves Local Week 2024.
- Peer mentor pilot programme – read more here.
- Green interventions to ensure the city is fit for the future and meeting its net zero targets
Milngavie BID
Milngavie BID has positioned itself as a key player in promoting the town as a destination of choice. By focusing on enhancing the town centre, promoting Milngavie as a gateway to leisure, and improving business performance, the BID has significantly contributed to the town’s economic vitality.
Milngavie is home to over 150 local and national businesses, which collectively invest and work together
through the Milngavie BID company to deliver projects, events and a place marketing strategy for the town.
The focus of the BID in Milngavie is based on three workstreams:
- Enhancing the Town Centre as heart of the community
- Milngavie a destination choice and gateway to leisure
- Improving business performance and management across the town
Harnessing the power of digital is central to the work of the BID team in Milngavie. As part of a holistic place and digital marketing strategy, the BID commissioned the purchase and website development of the 20 year old geographic domain name Milngavie.co.uk. The strong brand identity benefits the organisation and its levy payers, whilst allowing the BID to provide a comprehensive platform for all local businesses, community groups, charities and other key stakeholders with an interest in the town.
The domain also acts as a one-stop-shop for visitors and locals alike, signposting latest events and news and providing a trusted source of information.
The BID organise a wide range of annual events year round, including a Classic Car show, Christmas lights and seasonal trails for the family. The BID re=cently took part in filming with TV presenter Sean Batty as part of Scotland Loves Local Week.
To ensure Milngavie looks its best, the BID funds the purchase of planters for the town, with volunteers from Milngavie’s in Bloom planting and maintaining the planters. Levy payers are also eligible for up to 50% of costs to improve the frontage of their properties.
Read more about Milngavie BID on their website.
One Linlithgow
Currently in the process of ballot renewal, the current BID term for One Linlithgow will end on 30th September 2024 where they will seek to renew for another five year term via a democratic ballot.. Read more about their plans for 2024-2029 should they achieve a successful renewal ballot.
After a merging of two separate BIDs (The Town Centre and Mill Road BIDs) in 2019, OneLinlthgow BID was born out of a desire to deliver projects and services that would improve the trading environment of the area, benefiting both businesses and their customers, as well as the many visitors to the area.
The main objectives of the BID during the five year term from 2019 – 2024 focused on:
- Inspiring visitors and residents to enjoy Linltihgow both during the day and at night, and increasing footfall in local retailers
- Enhancing and maintaining the attractiveness of the town
- Optimising accessibility and parking in the area
- Protecting businesses and residents by enhancing security measures
- Raising Linlithgow’s profile on a national and global stage through traditional and digital marketing campaigns
- Acting as a voice for the local business community and working with levy payers to create meaningful policy change at a national and local level
- Supporting community groups and delivering improvements to Linlithgow
To find out more about the BID and it’s business plan proposal here.
Giffnock Village
The Giffnock Village BID was first established in 2013 and has since been successful at two renewal ballots., The BID has been a championing voice for the local area of Giffnock, providing support to the nearly 70 local businesses as well as showcasing the very best of what is on offer locally.
The central aims of Giffnock Village BID focus on improving the economic opportunities for the businesses in Giffnock and driving greater footfall and locking in spend locally.
The BID has placed great importance on building local relationships, not just with levy payers but with the residents and people who visit to create a strong, unified voice for Giffnock.
The BID have recently launched a new-look Facebook page as part of their digital marketing strategy to market Giffnock on a local, national and global stage, supporting community groups and addressing the issues facing businesses in every sector.
Giffnock Village took to the stage during Scotland Loves Local Week 2024, when TV presenter Sean Batty spent a day working in local business ‘She Is Beauty’, which is owned by the BID Chair Jo Mulhern. The film was showcased during the week-long celebrations, with local residents sharing their opinions on why choosing local and supporting businesses in Giffnock is so important.
You can watch the video below.