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Liz brings over 16 years marketing and business experience to the BID team. She has worked at a range of businesses from a national, publicly-listed company to running her own business. Liz lives in Wimborne and comes to us from her most recent role as Marketing Manager at Walford Mill Crafts. Liz is looking forward to helping Wimborne's businesses and working with the rest of the team to build a better town. She sees the Wimborne BID as possibly her biggest challenge yet! Liz is married with a young son who plays with Wimborne Rugby Club. She plays for the Centre Pass netball team and enjoys walking in the Dorset countryside.

 A view from the BIDs

Recognising the growing challenge to town centres, the Coalition Government commissioned the independent Mary Portas High Street Review in spring of this year under the lead of Ed Davey MP, Consumer Affairs Minister in the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. It is clear to all concerned that the scale of the problem is vast and that quick fixes alone will not suffice.

BIDs in a leading role

British BIDs welcomed the focus that this review put on our high streets and in particular on Business Improvement Districts as management and leadership vehicles for the success of those high streets. We were actively engaged in the process from start to finish offering advice, expertise, best practice and case studies alongside our involvement in the various review-led think tank and discussion sessions.

In parallel with this, we took a number of opportunities over recent months to engage with our members and partners within the BID industry. One of these was in our Bb Leadership Network Dialogue paper No.2 on the ‘The Future of Town Centres’, where we debated all the key issues and stated that manageable outcomes that recognise the scale of the challenge will be required for the review to achieve real traction going forward.

In its seven year history in the UK, the BID industry has more than proven its ability to add value and leadership to Britain’s town centres and this has been fully recognised within the Portas report – and by government ministers. We highlighted a number of key aspects in our response to the review, all of which, we are delighted to report have been taken on board throughout the recommendations of the report.

The ‘Town Team’ concept from the report is what we do. It is BIDs firmly at the forefront and proving Localism in action. The recommendations well describes the way BIDs operate at a local level. We are naturally pleased to see encouragement for the influence and remit of BIDs along the lines of those mature and advanced Bb Accredited BIDs that operate at a strategic level within their area. Linked to this is support for formally involving property owners in BIDs through an owner levy, the solutions for which we have been leading over recent years. Establishing a register of high street landlords will further assist in its delivery.

Chris Slocock - Chairman of Wimborne BID