Outline BID Proposal

At a meeting of the Colne Town Centre Forum, to be held Wednesday 17 January 2018 at 5.30pm in the Town Hall, the outline of a BID Proposal for the town will be presented by the Colne BID Project Manager, Chris Kolek.

The development of a BID Proposal for Colne involves listening to the priorities expressed by the owners and managers of business premises in the town. A BID Proposal and Business Plan is currently being drafted and when ready will be put to a vote for the businesses who would be affected. The meeting on 17 January will provide an opportunity to hear how those plans are shaping up and will set out a programme of activities to reflect the highest priorities emerging from the consultations with businesses in the town. This includes information and suggestions contained in the 74 written submissions received in response to the questionnaire survey carried out during July, August and September 2017.

Highest priorities identified by businesses in Colne are:

• to keep the number of empty units to a minimum was most often cited as ‘high priority’ (85%)
• reducing the costs of running a business (70%)
• enhancing the appearance of the town (69%)
• marketing Colne to residents (65%)
• marketing Colne to visitors (62%)
• promoting a safer environment for staff, customers and visitors (52%).