Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted the following points:

a)    Plymouth was one of the few cities in the country to renew their bids and vision;

b)    Plymouth had been the second city in the UK to adopt a business improvement district when they had first been introduced in 2001;

c)    Importance of diversification of the city centre;

d)    The city had had a remarkable recovery from the COVID19 pandemic;

e)    The success of The Barcode and Theatre Royal Plymouth in driving footfall in the city centre;

f)     The health hub at Colin Campbell Court was expected to bring in 990,000 people annually, some of whom would shop in the city centre;

g)    Plymouth University drove forward diversity, food business and ancillary and support services in the heart of the city, and had invested significantly in the Brunel Plaza development;

h)    Investment in the Civic Centre was investment in blue and green skills, but would also increase footfall in the city centre;

i)     Investment in the Guildhall as a new music and entertainment venue in the city centre;

j)     Investment in the public realm, including the Civic Square;

k)    Investment in Plymouth Market and it’s diverse cooked food offering;

l)     Several department store buildings which had been left empty were now, retail, residential and hotels;

m)  5,500 homes were to be provided in and around the city centre in partnership with Homes England;

n)    A 30% increase in visitor spend, and a 20% increase in number of visitors, was ambitious but achievable.

Nigel Godefroy (Chair, City Centre Company) and Steve Hughes (Chief Executive, City Centre Company) added:

o)    The partnership between the Plymouth City Centre Company and Plymouth City Council had been formed 20 years ago;

p)    The City Centre Company represented over 500 companies, and worked to provide a secure, safe and clean city centre and to ensure the ongoing viability of individual businesses and the City Centre as a whole;

q)    Diversification of Plymouth City Centre;

r)    A successful city centre was a sign of the confidence and success of a city;

s)     Congratulated and thanked Plymouth City Council for its ongoing commitment to the city centre;

t)     Lots of new businesses were opening up in the city centre;

u)    Ambition to deliver a different kind of city centre that was vibrant and alive, during the day and night, and all year round;

v)    Partnership working was successful and key to the future of the city centre;

w)   Important to change perceptions, increase visitor and local spend, and create an experience for visitors to the area;

x)    The plan was in a consultation phase and any feedback from the panel was welcome;

y)    Main aim was to position Plymouth city centre as the major retail, visitor and leisure destination on the South West Peninsula and as a great place to live, work and study;

z)    The new plan would be bold and ambitious and reflect the ambitions of the Council;

aa)  Flavour Fest had been run slightly differently for 2024 and had attracted over 100,000 visitors to the city centre.

In response to questions, it was further explained:

bb)Housing on Bath Street and the Moxy Hotel would improve the connection between the waterfront and the city centre, as well as events in the city such as Flavour Fest and Pirates Weekend;

cc)  New businesses were encouraged to get in touch with the City Centre Company when they opened to help with any issues they experienced;

dd)They ran a Shop Improvement Grant Scheme which had been very well received in helping businesses become more visible, and were also providing mentoring and courses to help businesses develop their social media presence, and could connect them to the Council, Chamber of Commerce, and other organisations that might be able to support them;

ee)A large amount of business was done through deliveries such as Just Eat and Deliveroo;

ff)    PARC (Plymouth Against Retail Crime) had been a major success of the previous five years dealing with the rise in shoplifting and anti-social behaviour;

gg)  The Cost of Living crisis and the COVID19 pandemic had been tough on businesses, but the City Centre Company had supported wherever possible;

hh)Old Town Street and New George Street had been more problematic and had taken longer than expected, along with delays with Armada Way, something else business had had to contend with;

ii)    Several recent developments in the city centre wouldn’t have been possible without the partnership between the City Centre Company and Plymouth City Council, such as The Barcode and The Box;

jj)    The ballot would be run through the Chief Executive of the City Centre Company;

kk)Businesses whose rateable value increased would not be asked to pay the BID levy during a BID period, but might at the beginning of the next;

ll)    Work on Armada Way would be carried out by Plymouth City Council and not the BID;

mm) Feedback from events helped them improve accessibility, for example 2024 Christmas Light Switch On would include a sign language interpreter, and they were happy to listen to further feedback on how the city centre could be more inclusive;

nn) Although footfall was down on levels in 2019, it was 20% higher than this time in 2023 and optimism that it would continue to rise;

oo) Plymouth was becoming more of a city break destination, rather than just a day visit destination;

pp) Investment in a tourism data hub;

qq) It was important to improve the public realm to make it a place that people wanted to live and re-introduce that use into the city centre;

rr)  City Centre Company was working with Connect Plymouth to promote Beryl Bikes and Co Cars and with Plymouth City Council to promote cycling and walking;

ss)   Concerns from businesses had included business costs, which the BID had no control over, and wanting more focus on street cleaning and planting, but the mood had generally improved in recent months;

tt)   The BID levy’s were relative to the size of the businesses, with some of the smaller businesses paying less than £200 a year, and there hadn’t been very many complaints about the cost/value of this;

uu) The business plan was due to be completed by October 2024, and it would go to ballot before March 2025.

The Panel agreed unanimously to:

1.    Support the principles and overall approach of the Plymouth City Centre Company BID and its draft Business Plan for 2025 to 2030.