MORE THAN 100 Reading businesses came together at The Roost in Thames Tower last week to celebrate its collective achievements and learn more about two new Business Improvement District (BID) plans.
The Reading and Abbey Quarter BIDs reach the end of their five-year terms on March 31, 2024, and participating companies took to the event with ideas on what they would like to see in next spring’s business plans, which would run until 2029.
There was strong support for activities delivered in the town centre, such as Reading’s Christmas lights, summer floral displays, an events programme, street cleaning, provision of business wardens to tackle shoplifting, as well as staff wellbeing and training programmes.
Alexa Volker, Reading BID Manager, said: “Over the last five years, Reading BID has invested around £5 million in making Reading town centre a better place in which to work, live, visit and do business.
“Feedback from our businesses show that we have been investing that money wisely and their priorities will shape the direction of travel for potential future BIDs starting in 2024. Town centre businesses tell us the huge difference Reading BID makes to the town centre, from enhanced security to better trained staff and we will be putting to them an exciting new proposition to continue this work early in 2024.”
Based on the feedback received from businesses, the BID announced areas of support for the two potential BIDs, including in: social and health, enhancing and exciting events, safety and security, environment and sustainability and helping people stay informed and represented.
Mayor of Reading, Cllr Tony Page, spoke at the event. He said: “Reading town centre today looks enormously different to when I first became a councillor. It’s gone from ‘Sleepy Hollow’, with last buses at 11pm, to a 24-hour diverse and vibrant city in all but name.
“For the past 16 years, the BID has reflected and represented the ever-changing make-up of our town centre businesses, from retail to hospitality, leisure and offices, ensuring that we support individual business success through a wide range of initiatives that make Reading a great place in which to work, do business, visit or live.
“The BID has been a vital part of the economic growth of our town centre and it is essential that it continues to be so, and Reading Borough Council looks forward to continuing to work in partnership with the BID for many years to come.”
The 2024-29 business plans will be launched in the New Year, creating the fifth consecutive iteration of the Reading Central BID and a second term for the Abbey Quarter BID. The two separate proposals will be voted on by the businesses located in the two relevant areas in late January.
The Reading Central BID has been in place since 2006, while the Abbey Quarter version was introduced in 2019, including many of the town’s office buildings.
A BID is an area which has a mandate to create extra services in addition to those already provided by the public authorities to maximise the experience for businesses, shoppers and workers.
For more information about the 2024-29 plans, visit: www.readingbid.co.uk
