Following the resounding 89% YES vote at the ballot result on June 1st, it was all hands on deck at Visit West to put resources and plans in place to start to implement our vision of a Redcliffe and Temple area that is vibrant, thriving sustainable and welcoming.
No time was wasted, and we soon had our Management Board appointed and our Project and Marketing teams recruited, all eager to deliver right across our 5 BID themes.
We have had some really great feedback from many of you on the Dr Bike maintenance sessions, brilliantly organised by our project manager Tom and in 2022 these sessions will be delivered twice monthly at Glass Wharf and Finzels Reach which all helps in our mission to improve sustainability and the environment. In this same theme, a much broader project is developing around how to best improve the public realm and outdoor spaces in the area. We carried out Stakeholder workshops in November with follow up sessions and recommendations to follow in 2022.
One of the BID’s priorities is to build a safe and caring community and we are very proud to have rolled out 7 TAP for Bristol donation points in BID businesses to help solve homelessness in Bristol. Our project manager Sabrina has also been able to expertly organise a number of fun lunchtime historic walking tours of the Redcliffe and Temple area which have provided great opportunities to meet new people, learn about the area and get some vital exercise and steps in.
In our creating and promoting a vibrant place theme, we know from your feedback that you want a Redcliffe and Temple area that has a clear identity and is strongly promoted, so in November we were very excited to launch our fabulous new brand identity with beautifully designed iconography of our local buildings in our unique purple BID colour. Beth and Grace our marketing experts have been working tirelessly to follow up this brand work with a new BID website which went live in December. The site contains all of the information and news about what is happening in the BID area, and alongside our social channels is a great opportunity to promote your business and any offers you may have.
A special mention for everyone that supported and joined in with our festive activity this year. Our Christmas Adventures Festive Light Trail in partnership with the Bristol City Centre BID proved to be really popular right across the city and our Christmas Market at Finzels Reach and Temple Quay was great fun too.
We have been working hard across our theme of creating and maintaining quality spaces and we are delighted to have entered into a partnership with Bristol Waste Company to provide enhanced cleansing services across the BID area. This includes a dedicated team with jet washing and graffiti removal equipment that will ensure our streets are cleaner and more attractive. If your business has any cleansing issues please get in touch with Sabrina at cleansing@redcliffeandtemplebid.co.uk. You may have also noticed our vibrant Love Bristol planters that have been installed on Portwall Place and outside Freshford House in October and they will be maintained regularly to give these areas a colour and greenery boost.
Finally, in our connecting and representing businesses mission, we were delighted to be able to put on the BIDs first face to face networking and BID update meeting wonderfully hosted by Imran and his impressive team at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in November, this was great opportunity to hear what the BID had been up to and an insight into the future activity. We are looking forward to hosting more of these in 2022.
Please have a look at our new website, sign up to our monthly newsletter and let us know if you have any ideas or opportunities for 2022.
We look forward to staying connected.
Have a very happy New Year.
