Campaign begins to renew Yorkshire’s first Business Improvement District

Leaders have voiced their backing for Hull Business Improvement District (HullBID) as they look to whip up support to extend the initiative for another five years.

Emma Hardy, MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, said HullBID operates free of political bias and has played a key role in helping companies recover from the pandemic.

And Jonathan Evison, elected in May as PCC for the Humberside Police area, said he has already committed more funding to help HullBID support businesses, to keep the city centre streets clean and safe and to develop a new event to pull in the crowds.

HullBID became the first BID in Yorkshire in 2006. Kathryn Shillito, the executive director, was appointed in 2010 and leads a team of five staff with support from a board of 12, ten of whom are drawn from the city centre business community.

To win the ballot, HullBID must secure a simple majority of votes and rateable values from the 840 businesses and other organisations which form its membership.

They are being asked to continue a commitment to pay the equivalent of 1% of their rateable values to fund a programme, set by the board, of ongoing improvements to safety and security, cleanliness, communication and the general business environment.

In recent years BIDs have also been set up in Bradford, Harrogate, Leeds, Ripon, Sheffield, Wakefield, Keighley and York.

Hardy said “Hull was leading the way in Yorkshire and since then other cities and towns have followed that. They have seen the benefits from HullBID and have been keen to emulate those.

“Prior to the BID there was no facility for businesses to speak to each other and share their problems and solutions.

“Partnership is vital to meeting challenges and in 2006 BID became the answer. It is the model of an independent, not-for-profit organisation working together to identify and deliver positive actions for the area.

“As a new MP HullBID was my go-to organisation to get a clear picture of the economic health of the city centre and to hear the voice of businesses, which comes through to me unfiltered by any political bias.”

Ms Hardy added that Hull is “a city on the up” and needs the support of HullBID as it adapts to the changes of the post-Covid era.

“If HullBID didn’t exist it would be necessary to invent it,” she said. “How fortunate we are then to have had it in place for the last 15 years.”

Evison said: “I am very much aware that crime is associated with deprivation and the way we can make people’s lives better is to reduce that deprivation.

“Having a vibrant city which is actively trying to get investment into Hull means better-paid jobs which will lift people out of deprivation.

“HullBID makes the centre much more attractive. It hasn’t got the graffiti you see in other places.

“The doorways are clean and there are always things going on. BID is a brilliant advocate for the businesses and, particularly through the Covid period, has gone the extra mile to help businesses with the problems they were encountering.”

Jim Harris, chair of HullBID and centre manager of St Stephen’s Shopping Centre, added: “Keeping HullBID is not a given.

“This is a heartfelt message because we all love HullBID and we all know the great work it does and if we didn’t have HullBID what would we do?”