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On the BID campaign trail
Taunton is hot on the campaign trail as the town centre
management leads the way towards becoming a Business Improvement
District (BID).
BID Taunton, part of a national programme for businesses
to work together to regenerate their towns and cities, was
officially launched recently at the town’s Brewhouse Theatre.
Now focus groups are currently being held to find out exactly what
traders would like to include in the Action Plan. They will vote on
becoming a BID in July next year.
A £70,000 boost was awarded to the campaign by the South West RDA,
to help the Taunton Town Centre Company which is leading BID
Taunton, to do market research on what improvements businesses want,
to recruit extra staff and increase communications.
Taunton is the first town (as opposed to city) in the South West and
one of only 20 in the country in the latest round of those going for
BID status under the Department for Community and Local Government’s
(DCLG) guidance, following the successful national pilot scheme.
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“Taunton is due to change greatly over the coming decade and we’ll
have to maintain and improve the quality of shopper and visitor
experience during this regeneration work, if we hope to stay ahead,”
said Lucy Ball, Taunton Town Centre Company manager.
“This is a real opportunity, a very important initiative to maintain
and develop our town as a quality shopping destination in the face
of competition from cities nearby.”
The Taunton Town Centre Company has won high praise from
Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which is taking the national BID scheme
forward on behalf of the DCLG, for its energetic and proactive
approach.
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