Welcome to the new year. 2024 came to a festive close with our exciting programme of family activities, including the Countdown to Christmas weekend and December’s magical Snow Windows trail. Residents and visitors came into the city centre to experience the wonderful choice of fun activities, warm hospitality, lively venues and great shopping. Attracting visitors into the city and encouraging them to explore and spend more time here is important to all of our businesses and this includes the thousands of cruise passengers who arrive throughout the year. Last year we announced the launch of our Welcome Volunteer Programme at the port who meet tourists off the cruise ships, encouraging people of all nationalities to discover our city’s heritage, culture and experiences. We are proud that they made the final in Visit England’s Tourism Superstar Awards 2025. A big thank you to our wonderful volunteers and ABP.
July saw a change in government and an autumn budget which caused some sharp intakes of breath, particularly the employers’ national insurance rise, which will affect all of us. There was some good news in the increased sales for Black Friday, but there is a long journey ahead for all of us to reach a feeling of prosperity. To support your business, the levy rate will remain the same for a further year. GO! is also working with the council on the city’s plans for delivering economic growth, attracting more footfall, bringing in new businesses and long-term investment. This will only happen if Southampton is perceived as an ambitious place with opportunities for developers and investors. Part of this is how the city looks and feels. Delivering a better and safer city centre is vital for workers, residents and visitors, whether it is keeping graffiti under control through the vigilance of our Ranger and the council’s cleaning team or the reassurance of our security team patrols.
GO! depends on the support and engagement of levy payers and partners to deliver a better city centre for those who live, work, visit or study here. If you are interested in being involved in shaping the city, please get in touch.
Let’s work together to make 2025 a year to thrive.
Best wishes,
Stephen Manion (Executive Director)
Purple Flag accreditation renewal
The Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) visited the city last November for the re-assessment of our Purple Flag status. Operations Manager Jade McCauley led the assessment working with local partners to host the assessors and provide an insight into our safe and vibrant night-time economy.
We are delighted to announce that Southampton has successfully been awarded Purple Flag status! Our night-time economy continues to be a safe, clean and exciting environment for all to enjoy, with the measures in place to ensure support is there if needed.
Further funding for Night-time security
The BID secured £15,000 of external funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s ASB fund at the end of Summer. This enabled us to bring back night-time security patrols on Friday and Saturday nights (9pm-5am) from August to December. The team played a vital role in deterring anti-social behaviour, looking out for known offenders, supporting vulnerable individuals and patrolling the parks and hotspot zones. The intel picked up during these patrols fed back into weekly meetings with partners.
Southampton streets get squeaky clean
We kicked off the year with the Big City Clean, giving the city centre’s pavements and street furniture a muchneeded spruce up as part of our ongoing commitment to make Southampton a vibrant, welcoming and enjoyable place to live, work and visit.
Starting from January, the deep clean began at Above Bar Street and refreshed key areas including Bedford Place, High Street, Portland Terrace, Civic Centre Road, Bargate Street, Commercial Road, London Road, Carlton Place, Winchester Street and Oxford Street, among others.
Transforming Southampton’s streets
Our dedicated cleaning team ensure the environment around your business is pleasant and safe for you and your staff. In 2024, our team actioned over 615 reports, tackling everything from graffiti removal and hotwashes to fly-tipping and sharps/needle removal.
Great strides for Facial Recognition trial
The Live Facial Recognition trial in partnership with Reveal Media and Synergy Security is pioneering new technology with body-worn video cameras in our night-time economy. The scheme was launched in December 2023 and has developed significantly, helping venues and door staff create a safer nighttime experience for everyone. Managed by the BID’s SBCP, there are currently seven facial recognition cameras being used on door staff at venues to help them identify individuals on the Red Card Scheme who are banned due to previous offences from entering any licensed premises in Southampton. Since its inception, the cameras have successfully identified and deterred an excluded individual on more than 30 occasions. GO! Southampton are proud to be the first BID in the UK to use this type of technology and are looking to expand the scheme in 2025.
A fond farewell: changes to our SBCP team
Our SBCP team members Carol Bowers and Martin Conlan have left the BID after five years of dedicated service – we wish them all the best with their travels/retirement!
Stepping into their roles, Marcus Johns has now joined the SBCP team as the Business Crime Partnership Manager. Recently retired as a Sergeant from Hampshire Police after an impressive 30-year career, Marcus brings extensive expertise in law enforcement, particularly in Southampton, where he has served for the past two decades.
SaBA Day 2024: ramping up the pressure on retail crime
The city shines this Christmas
Since 2022 we have worked with Gala lights to bring seasonal lighting to the wider BID area. Outside of the Above Bar Christmas market zone was left without festive cheer, so we installed twinkling boas and sparkling motifs to lamp columns in East Street, Oxford Street, Latimer Street, Terminus Terrace, Commercial Road, London Road, Bedford Place & Carlton Place. The lighting enhances the festive feeling across the BID area, animating the retail and night-time economy zones improving the welcome for all at Christmas time.
Our Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP) team helped to facilitate two Safer Business Action Days (SaBA) in March and October last year to continue to tackle issues around retail crime and anti-social behaviour. This citywide collaboration saw Hampshire Constabulary and other partners target the top high-harm offenders whilst working to deter and prevent crime. October’s week of action also included the first SaBA night which focused on activity in the night-time economy. Across the three days partners made significant progress including seven arrests for shoplifting, 13 dispersal orders issued and three sexual offence arrests.
Safer streets, stronger city
In 2024 we recorded over £77,000 worth of stock recoverd by the GO! Southampton security team. The dedicated team also attended 771 live incidents and issued over 200 warning letters. Our SBCP team continue to manage the DISC crime-reporting portal, building cases against repeat offenders and working with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary to tackle issues in the city.
A new security partnership to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour
In line with our commitment to safeguarding businesses and maintaining a secure, welcoming city centre environment, we’re pleased to announce Argenbright Security Europe Limited (ASEL) as our new security provider.
Under this new partnership, our security team have been briefed on a new patrol plan along with additional training to refresh and enhance their skills and knowledge of policies and procedures. Our team will continue to work seven days a week and can be contacted via our Radio Scheme or 07389 030098. If this number is contacted out of the security team’s working hours, you will be put through to ASEL’s 24/7 contact centre who will be able to help.
Latest public art projects
As part of our commitment to enhancing the public realm we are continuing work with partners on art projects that bring the city to life.
Working with John Hansard Gallery, Art Asia and Southampton Forward, we funded an installation on the hoardings at East Street and Queensway. The artwork, created by textile Artist and Researcher, Jennifa Chowdhury, celebrates modern and traditional Asian culture in the city whilst complimenting the surrounding businesses in the area to provide visitors a more vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.
In Old Town, we worked with local charity In Focus to restore two telephone boxes to their former glory including a new coat of paint and new signage with the help of local business Licc Design Co. These quintessentially British telephone boxes have become a fun picture spot for cruise passengers and visitors.
Meet the faces of our new
Welcome Volunteer Scheme
Last summer we launched our Welcome Volunteer Programme to enhance the city’s warm reception for cruise passengers. This dedicated team of local enthusiasts are stationed at Ocean terminal to greet transit passengers with a friendly smile and a wealth of local knowledge.
Our volunteers go above and beyond, offering directions to key attractions, personalised recommendations for local businesses and that special touch to elevate a visitor’s experience from good to unforgettable. This initiative has been made possible through our ongoing partnership with ABP Southampton, and within four months of launching in 2024, our incredible Welcome Volunteers greeted over 3,000 passengers, leaving a lasting impression of our city.
Exciting news! Our volunteers, aptly nicknamed Southampton Saints, have also become finalists for Visit England’s Tourism Superstar Award 2025.
L’Osteria, was brought to life by Studio Canal as part of a nationwide trail spanning 23 cities, celebrating the latest film release: Paddington in Peru.
The bench was unveiled by the Lord Mayor and Children’s Mayor, marking a memorable moment for the city. Since then, hundreds of visitors have flocked to Paddington’s side to snap a photo with the iconic marmaladeloving bear. A big thank you to Westquay who has jointly-funded this project and provided a safe home. This year we will be exploring a second location for Paddington and its potential forever home – watch this space!
Eggciting results from our Easter Trail
Trails remain an excellent way to draw visitors into the city and showcase BID businesses, and our Easter Trail is no exception.
The free activity encouraged participants to explore the Old Town and surrounding areas while searching for Easter eggs in 16 BID businesses.
Over 800 free prizes were given away to children, with participants sharing positive feedback in our post-trail survey. If you would like to get involved in a future trail, please email christina.schembri@gosouthampton.co.uk
In October, Southampton proudly welcomed its newest resident to the city centre: Paddington! His charming bench,
near
Your Community. Your City. Your Home. Your Southampton
In April, we launched Your Southampton—a sister brand to Visit Southampton dedicated to residents, workers and students. Operating across Facebook and Instagram, Your Southampton highlights positive news stories, local offers, community events and business spotlights.
Since its debut, the platform has quickly reached thousands in the community, and we’re thrilled about its potential. Your Southampton will also serve as a hub for promoting job vacancies, SO Card offers and other initiatives, ensuring we continue to support and champion our BID members.
Championing Southampton on a national scale: Blakeborough PR
GO! Southampton is proud to continue its partnership with Blakeborough PR, working together to elevate Southampton’s profile nationally. In 2024 Blakeborough organised 10 press trips (resulting in 28 pieces of press coverage), 18 influencer trips and sent 25 press releases. 2024 saw a media reach of over 2.2million and a media value of £2.6million! If you’d like to explore opportunities to promote your business through press/influencer trips contact marketing@gosouthampton.co.uk
Love The Old Town campaign shines a light on the city’s historic quarter
To encourage residents and visitors to explore the city’s Old Town, we delivered a new campaign Love The Old Town. Running throughout September, the campaign complemented major events like Heritage Open Days, Southampton International Boat Show and Music in the City, proving that the Old Town is more than just a place rich in history— it’s a vibrant hub of activity.
The campaign highlighted the Old Town’s diverse attractions, including its fantastic dining and drinking spots, family-friendly experiences, independent businesses, Green Flag awarded green spaces as well a brilliant night-time offering. We produced the Love The Old Town guide, featuring 33 BID businesses from East Street to Oxford Street, in which 15,000 copies were distributed across the city. Love the Old Town will be returning for 2025!
Southampton’s Christmas offering continues to position the city as a top destination for visitors in Hampshire. In 2024 we created a new Christmas guide which highlighted over 100 BID members, along with the local events and attractions. 20,000 guides were produced and circulated across the city to key locations including hotels, shops, transport links, venues, community hotspots and over 20 primary schools.
In addition to the guide, we promoted the campaign across digital channels, digital screens around the city, engaging radio interviews, press releases, a dedicated Christmas page on the Visit Southampton website and extensive social media promotion. Compared to 2023, our Christmas webpage saw a +53.3% increase in traffic and +63.3% increase in social media reach during the campaign. We also featured levy payers across five festive blog articles and hosted a local influencer trip to further promote the BID area.
New Snow Windows Trail adds more Christmas magic across the city centre
To elevate Southampton’s Christmas offering, we took a fresh approach to our free annual Christmas walking trail.
Working with Snow Windows, the world leaders in snow spray art, we transformed 21 BID member windows into stunning festive displays. 15,000 trail maps were printed and distributed to key city centre locations and primary schools across Southampton. Over 500 prizes were given away to children and many families shared that they felt the snow windows added an extra touch of magic over the holidays. The activity also attracted child-free couples/groups and cruise passengers too!
In December, we also hosted Snow Windows LIVE! at the main entrance of Westquay. Across the day, artist Tom Baker created a stunning showstopper piece highlighting iconic buildings as well as Southampton FC’s homegrown football players. Our event allowed visitors to experience the process live and up close whilst also promoting the trail. The event was joint funded between the BID and Southampton Football Club with support from Westquay.
Building Southampton’s visitor profile through consumer research
To monitor the ever-changing behaviours of consumers and to better inform our business plan, we worked with Destination Research in October to conduct our annual consumer research. The research project consisted of over 450 faceto-face interviews across the BID area in addition to an online questionnaire distributed across our channels. The research piece gained valuable insights into the types of people visiting the city, why they visit and their communication preferences. Top highlights from the research include: Our Finance Manager, Tom Winyard, collaborated with a University of Southampton MSc student to conduct
Kicking off the season with our annual Countdown to Christmas event
Our Countdown to Christmas event has become a cherished tradition, growing and evolving each year to mark the official start of the festive season. This year we delivered three full days of free entertainment, activities and performances for all to enjoy. A big thank you to our Headline Sponsor Brackenwood Windows for making all of this possible. During our Countdown to Christmas event, Southampton saw:
Supporting Southampton Cocktail Week
Running from 30 August – 8 September, Southampton Cocktail Week brought the city to life with a celebration of its exceptional cocktail culture. Over 30 venues took part, offering visitors exclusive perks, special discounts, signature cocktail creations and masterclasses. We were proud to partner with the event organisers – a talented team of local managers from Southampton’s hospitality industry – to highlight the thriving cocktail scene here in the city.
Southampton Summer Sessions
We have already started planning for Christmas 2025. If you would like to get involved or have any feedback on 2024 please get in touch.
The latest BID member events
In June, the city welcomed the first Summer Sessions to Guildhall Square which saw a star-studded lineup of eight acts including Tom Jones, Madness, Nile Rogers & CHIC. We worked with event organisers to help communicate road closures, show scheduling and opportunities for businesses across the two weeks. With Summer Sessions returning this June, we will continue to work closely with organisers to ensure businesses are kept informed on all the latest developments.
Welcoming new faces to the city
We actively participate in University Open Days and Freshers’ Fairs to connect with parents and students, showcasing what our city has to offer. At these events, our visitor stand serves as a hub for sharing information about local attractions and city highlights, with our SO Card continuing to be a popular pick. Over the past year, we have worked with Solent University to
city centre tours and talks to further engage with prospective students.
Light The South trail
In the summer, Southampton came together to support the Southampton Hospitals Charity through the Light The South trail. 80 lighthouse sculptures were transformed by artists and community groups into their own unique masterpieces and displayed across the city centre and Cowes, creating a stunning free trail for visitors to explore. As a Trail Partner, GO! Southampton played a key role in extending the trail into Oxford Street and Carlton Place, encouraging thousands of trail-goers to explore these areas over the summer.
2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, celebrating her life and legacy across the UK. What many don’t know is that Austen once called Southampton home. In collaboration with Southampton Forward, a-space arts and other local and regional partners, GO! Southampton is supporting the city’s exciting campaign through the Visit Southampton channels. Blakeborough PR have also been working on our behalf to arrange Jane Austen specific press trips.
Southampton has seen some fantastic coverage from many outlets including BBC, The Times, Good Housekeeping and even the New York Times!
Jane Austen 250
Networking Wellbeing Walks
Sponsored Events 2024
As events in Southampton continue to thrive in the city, we introduced a more robust event sponsorship scheme offering micro grants (up to £1,000) and major grants (up to £5,000). Applications are assessed by an events sub-group, formed by BID members, based on a criteria scoring system. We have proudly offered grant funding to the following:
THE BEDFORD PLACE
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
We will be reviewing our Event Sponsorship scheme and relaunching the latest application process on 1 April 2025. If you want to know more, please email flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk
Inspiring young minds at EBP South’s Get
Inspired event
In May we attended EBP South’s Get Inspired event at the O2 Guildhall. On our stall we highlighted the diverse range of industries and roles available in our city for young people. Geared towards 11 to 16-year-olds, the event featured a wide range of interactive stands showcasing the work of various employers, offering an exciting glimpse into potential career paths.
Upskilling your team:
Smartphone photography course
Hiring a professional photographer isn’t always within budget, but with the right techniques, your smartphone can be a powerful tool to capture stunning photos of your business. That’s why we partnered with In Focus to offer 15 fully funded spots for levy payers on their Business Photography Training workshop. Participants gained valuable insights, learned practical techniques and sharpened their skills to take their business photography to the next level—all without needing expensive equipment.
More CPD certified courses to help you level up your team
Our Business Training Hub now offers even more CPD certified courses to help BID members save on staff training costs. New courses include:
• Sexual harassment compliance
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Manual handling
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) training
• Food hygiene Levels 1, 2, and 3
• First Aid in the workplace training 1, 2 and 3
As a levy payer, you and your staff can access these and other courses for free. Find out more at gosouthampton.co.uk/training.
Strong City, Stronger Business
Economic growth and prosperity are at the heart of creating a city of which people are proud, and which will attract more visitors and investment. Working in partnership with the local and regional agencies brings together a stronger voice and greater resources to deliver improvements to the city centre.
We also exchange experiences of placemaking across the UK and internationally, including cities which have a shared heritage and future, such as Rotterdam which suffered from bombing during World War 2 and its global significance as an international port for cargo vessels and cruise ships.
This all contributes to the future, long term objectives of attracting high value employment and high spending visitors to Southampton.
Looking ahead to 2025/2026
The BID has been working with the Board and Theme Groups to create a plan for 2025/2026 that will not only help businesses survive through difficult times but also enhance the overall city experience for those who live, work and visit. Safety and security remain a top priority, and we are excited to see how our new partners ASEL bring innovative ideas to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. We seek to work closely with BID members and specific sectors/areas to provide the crucial support they need. New projects will significantly improve the welcome into the city with the aim to increase footfall and ultimately, spend. Creating character and identity for areas within the city is important to provide a variety of experiences for visitors and new opportunities for independent traders to flourish. This includes supporting the development of East Street, which will complement the recent improvements of Oxford Street and Carlton Place.
Priorities for 2025/2026
✔ Attract visitors and increase visitor
✔ Provide a welcome for visitors arriving by ship, railway and air
✔ Contribute to delivering the city’s growth and prosperity plans
✔ Raise Southampton’s profile nationally through PR & marketing
✔ Offer an event sponsorship scheme to support citywide events
✔ Deliver a magical Christmas event for families
✔ Implement sector/area specific campaigns to
✔ Market the city to cruise passengers,
✔ Develop the night-time economy based on recommendations from Purple
✔ Support businesses to effectively report and
In the longer term, we will be working closely with the council to deliver the city’s ambitious masterplan, with the aim of attracting increased investment into the city centre.
The cruise industry is significant for Southampton, with almost 3million passengers passing through the port every year, of which 200,000 will spend the day here as part of their holiday. Providing a better welcome and orientation with lots to see and do is vital to extend that visitor dwell-time and increase visitor spend. We will be working to deliver that better experience.
Stephen Manion (Executive Director)
✔ Working with partners to actively persue repeat and persistent offenders
✔ Work with partners to prevent rough sleepers and tackle begging
✔ Improve cleanliness delivering an annual deep clean with SCC
If you would like to know more about our Year 9 business plan, including breakdown of budget for each of our programmes of work, please visit gosouthampton.co.uk/year9
OUR SERVICES
Cleaning
Our cleaning team can provide extra cleaning services to our members, including jet washing and graffiti removal. Reach them at cleaning@gosouthampton.co.uk
Security
Our security team patrol the BID area seven days a week Mon - Thurs 10am-8pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-7pm and Sunday 11am-5pm (start times are flexible to meet the needs of businesses). You can contact them on 0738 9030 098 or via the SBCP radio scheme, mentioned below.
Radio Scheme & DISC
Access The DISC portal which has updated information about offenders in the city, alerts on live incidents and other local crime intelligence. Sign up for free by emailing sbcp@gosouthampton.co.uk. Businesses can hire a radio for £5+ VAT a week, which will connect you to the Citywatch CCTV control room and link you directly with our security team to support with any incidents. To find out more about obtaining a radio please email sbcp@gosouthampton.co.uk
Rangers
Debbi our Ranger visits businesses and reports environmental and cleaning issues around the BID area. You can contact her on rangers@gosouthampton.co.uk
Business Cost-Reduction Service
Levy payers can save on their core business services (energy, merchant fees, telecoms and water) via our independent cost reduction service. To get started, Place Support Partnership (working on behalf of GO! Southampton) simply need a copy of your recent bills, which will be analysed in confidence by a team of experts who will be able to advise you on saving opportunities. To find out more you can call 0333 0156 289 or email us at savings@gosouthampton.co.uk
Business Training Hub
Businesses and their employees can access free online courses and webinars that cover a number of topics from customer service and marketing to mental health and Excel training. To get started go to gosouthampton.co.uk/training
Waste Recycling
GO! Southampton works with Southampton City Council to offer savings on your business’ dry mixed recycling and to help reduce the levels of general waste reaching landfill. BID members are entitled to savings of up to 50% off their dry mixed recycling costs. To sign up, email us at recycling@gosouthampton.co.uk
Marketing
Our marketing team can help promote your business across our B2B and B2C channels. Please get in touch with us to discuss how we can support you by emailing, marketing@gosouthampton.co.uk
Photography Service
Levy-paying businesses are entitled to one free half-day photoshoot with a professional photographer to help boost their own marketing. For more details, please email Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk
PR Opportunities
Our ongoing PR work includes securing press trips for a variety of different journalists and influencers across the year. If you are interested in hosting journalists in your venue in return for press coverage, please get in touch with Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk
SO Card
Reach new and existing audiences by providing an offer, promotion or experience via the SO card, a free discount card promoted via the Visit Southampton channels. Email us at marketing@gosouthampton.co.uk
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