Report - January 2011

• Parking - Got some great feedback on the scratch card system in place for the hotels/b&b's to give to their overnight guests to give them the 8-9.00am free. The voucher scheme pilot has been extended to Jan/Feb as it has also been getting very good reviews from both businesses and customers. During January I am collecting feedback before proposing to the board and the businesses how we may make this a more permanent incentive to shoppers.
  The last minute pre-Christmas free parking gesture from WDDC was a very welcome idea that seemed to help a little when all was so dire with the bad weather. Also Ian Doyle and his team should get a special mention for their stoic efforts to assist in clearing the car parks.
• Parking consultation document - We have been asked to comment on the proposals WDDC have for parking charges. Essentially, Short stay is to be frozen for another year and there are some relatively small increases for the long stay parking.
• On Street Parfking - We probably need a concerted and combined lobbying effort to ask DCC for some concessions to businesses loading unloading (Billy the Fish, Geralds letter to the Echo).
• Park and Ride - I am expecting an email update from David Evans soon on various aspects of the park and ride strategy moving forwards and this will be circulated to all web registered BID businesses but I gather there is to be a meeting arranged that businesses will be invited to attend to get a more personal presentation (Denise of the Chamber of Commerce has more info on this.)
• Website More nice photos on the home page. Traffic Overall down on November still over 3000 - but largest traffic around the local shopping pages which is great. Not really surprised about a slight dip due to the weather problems.

  We are soon to be releasing a brilliant set of photos that will be free to download as a Dorchester screen-saver/wallpaper - as soon as it is available I will let you know!

• A Boards - This project is currently waiting on a meeting date of the interested parties including C of C, DBID and others but I have been talking to DW who are to give some ball park figures for ladder boards next week. £1000 per unit is the guess.
• Cardboard recycling - 25 new businesses are now signed up to the recycling project in partnership with WDDC and the team there are delighted with this result.
• BID Feedback survey - Business Survey: I am hoping to get the survey ready to go out by the end of January and will circulate it around for comments before hand.
• Roundabout project - We have been notified that the Highways Agency will not now be able to contribute a grant for this project so we will hope top obtain an in kind contribution from them but will otherwise look at other local funding possibilities before proceeding.

Report Archive

• January/March 2011 reports
• June/July 2010 reports
• Chairman's and AGM 2010 reports
• October/December 2009 reports
• August/October 2009 reports
• March to June 2009 reports
• PDF download of AGM 2008/9 annual report (5Mb)
• January 2009 report
• September/November 2008 report
• July/August 2008 report

Report - March 2011

• BID Feedback survey - This has taken up a fair bit of time since the last meeting but the surveys went out a couple of weeks ago now and we have had a reasonable return so far with more coming in each day. The whole point is to get the feedback and analyse the results so the more we have the better and we won't be ignoring those coming in late. We expect to have had the results to report before the next meeting (AGM). The results will then be made available to levy payers (in a confidential form) on the BID website and summarised in a press release. There have been some helpful comments and the survey has been very helpful in identifying businesses that either have not engaged fully with the BID or have not felt 'touched' by the BID and in both cases this gives us the chance to address those issues.

• Parking - Voucher scheme is now permanent for the duration of the DBID. From Nov 6th to Feb 20th Goulds have taken 1133 across both stores and are delighted with the results and feedback.
• On Street Parking - From 1st March the on-street meters now have the parking vouchers on the reverse of the tickets - There has been some good media exposure on this and the voucher scheme over the last week so it is hoped that this will boost visitor numbers a little further over the Spring and summer. I am hopeful that DCC will be agreeing to join in the free evening/Sunday parking as they have a meeting in mid March to request support for this on the on-street meters in High W St, High E St and Trinity street.
• Vouchers - I would like to develop the idea of a 5:1 buy back scheme as detailed in my email for launch in Apr/May. By 5:1 I mean for every £5 the shop gives out in discount to pay for the customer's parking, DBID would let them invoice £1. They would then submit their vouchers perhaps after 4 months or 6 month with an invoice.
  Typically, the average small shop has handed in between 12 and 40 vouchers collected from Nov-Feb so that would cost the BID £2.40 to £8.00. This is clearly not a massive cash drain, its more showing a little support to the businesses that are on the scheme. Even if a store managed 500 this would only be £100 and my suggestion is that there is a maximum cut off anyway of what could be reclaimed (£100/£200pa).
• A Boards and Signage - This is an example of both the good and the bad of projects that have to involve a local authority. Bad because of all the people that seem to have to be involved in making any decisions but good because there is now a unified approach to taking this problem seriously and coming up with some workable solutions. WDDC, DCC, DTC, C of C and DBID are all involved to make sure all interests are taken into account. There is a letter drafted circulating the above prior to its being sent out to all the high street businesses in town alerting them to their legal responsibilities, informing them of the need to find a solution, inviting them to an evening meeting to see some examples of solutions proposed to get their feedback and let them know that there is to be a period of one to one liaison where council staff will be talking to the businesses to make them aware of the issues and explain why things have to change. I am pushing for this meeting to be before the summer is upon us.
• Cycle Rack project - DCC are still taking an age to progress with their side but I believe the pressure is on to spend the budget before the end of the Financial year so I think we can expect some action very soon. There have been discussions about the penny farthing sign idea
• Radio Link support - DBID has made a few refurbished radios available to the network (currently taken up by The Ship, Leonard Cheshire and Goulds. We have a further two currently available which will be offered at the next RL meeting. These radios are £150-£180 to buy new and the businesses are paying just £30.00 but only on a commitment to paying their new £50 pa subs to the scheme.
• Park and Ride update - The Chamber organised a talk from WDDC on the various park and ride sites under consideration. The two finalists selected from 20 possible sites were an area off the Stadium roundabout and Monkeys Jump. Monkey's Jump seemed to come out as a clear winner on three counts:
  1. Cost - Almost ½ that of the other site due to water drainage issues
  2. Journey time into town is around ½ too which is vital for a P&R to be well used
  3. More capacity and the potential to expand (other site is less and no expansion)
• Deep Clean - A final but dramatic deep clean is in progress down the Hardye arcade where a local company is systematically removing all the chewing gum that has amassed over the last many years. This is being done by local company Dorset Master Clean to whom I have to give a name check as they are still sticking to their quote despite the fact that they underestimated the man hours by 70%! Its not too late to have a look as they have the last section to do on this Sunday. What a difference!
• Business development Website Seminar - Subject matter: Business Development using the web How you can use Social Media Tools like Facebook & Twitter for your business Everything you wanted to know about the web - but were afraid to ask (could be open forum style) Getting to the top of Google Marketing your business on the web.
• Website - Traffic up substantially on last month with visits approaching 4000 for the first time. We are about to release the Dorchester screen saver and wallpaper collection which will be a free download from the site. As a result of some feedback we have changed the way the main list (from menu) works for pubs, cafes and restaurants so that now a single click at the top menu item lists all of them
• Roundabout project - In the absence of local sponsorship in the current climate the Board voted to add £2K from the 2011/12 budget (as in the Business Plan) and proceed on this basis.