GO! Southampton's Spring/Summer 2021 Newsletter

ER 202I1NG/SUMM SPR S NEW

S I S S E N I S U B R U YO

WELCOME

Over the past few months, we’ve been delighted to see the city come back to life with visitors and residents returning to enjoy the shops, restaurants, attractions and everything else Southampton has to offer.

We’ve been working hard to ensure the city is bigger and better than ever for everyone to enjoy and are excited for future projects that will support your business post-pandemic.

In this newsletter read about what we’ve been up to since the beginning of the year.

You can read our latest Spring Reopening plan at: gosouthampton.co.uk/reopening2021

S S E N I S U B OUR

Southampton welcomes City Centre Policing Unit In May officers were reallocated from Southampton Central’s Neighbourhood Police Team to form the Southampton City Centre Policing Team, dedicated to tackling violent crime in the city centre.

This step forward is a great win for the city and its businesses and enables a safer city centre experience for residents, workers and visitors.

GO! Southampton has put in a huge amount of work over the last year lobbying for increased police presence within the city centre. We are happy to see that our campaigning, has impacted this decision and we can continue to work together to reduce crime in Southampton.

The SO card is here!

We’ve been working on a brand-new promotional tool to encourage local residents back into the city and help businesses bounce back post-lockdown.

#SouthamptonInsideOut makes waves in Carlton Place Since reopening in April, the temporary road closure pilot scheme in Carlton Place has been a huge success, seeing new and returning customers flock to the area for a spot of alfresco dining.

Prior to opening we worked with Solent Showcase Gallery, Southampton City Council and Studio B.A.D to install a colourful temporary road painting into the area.

This project supports our wider objective to introduce art into the public realm, making it accessible to everyone whilst also creating a more vibrant, dynamic city centre to enjoy.

Designed by local architect Amanda Moore and implemented by local artist Slam Daniels, this interactive style of design looks to bring together the community by allowing local traders, school children and other artists to fill in the sections of the grid in their own unique way.

We also worked with other partners to revamp the planters with the new Bedford Place branding and a variety of plants and flowers.

To help illuminate the area, additional festoon lighting has been installed along the planters.

The SO card is a free physical card which allows businesses to provide a discount, promotion or experience to new/returning customers who can browse available offers on the Visit Southampton website. The card, forming part of a wider reopening leaflet, has been distributed to all Southampton households (117,000 circa 260,000 residents) with a digital version available to download on the website visitsouthampton.co.uk/offers The SO card will pilot from June until August 2021, when we will review and evaluate.

We have begun to promote the card through our own channels as well as selected paid advertising opportunities.

NCE. ERIECITY. P X E YOUR YOUR EXPERIENCE. UR Y. YO T I C YOUR Discover exclusive offers, discounts, packages and experiences in Southampton by visiting:

visitsouthampton.co.uk/offers

VALID JUNE – AUGUST 2021

If you haven’t signed up already and would like to know more information, please email Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk

Southampton Business Crime Partnership receives national accreditation In March our Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP) was accredited by the National BCRP Standards which is the only official quality check against Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and other businessled crime initiatives in the UK. The assessment covers governance, partnership benefits, aims and objectives, communications, systems and procedures and data integrity.

The GO! Southampton team has been working hard to ensure we meet the correct standards and will continue to support and protect our BID members from crime and anti-social behaviour in the city centre now and in the future.

You can find more information about the SBCP at gosouthampton.co.uk/businesscrime

The Carlton Place project forms part of our #SouthamptonsideOut initiative which seeks to create more opportunities for businesses to utilise outdoor space for trading across the city. Read more about the initiative at gosouthampton.co.uk/southamptoninsideout

Support for outdoor dining

If you are looking to expand the area outside your premises for outdoor trade you can apply for a Pavement Licence or Tables & Chairs consent through the Southampton City Council website.

As part of the application, you will need to provide a drawing to show the layout plan of your proposed area.

GO! Southampton can help with this and create the drawings for you.

Please email us at info@gosouthampton.co.uk for more information on how we can support you with extending your outdoor areas.

Since the SBCP launched, over 260 members have signed up to our DISC crime-reporting portal and radio scheme.

GO! Southampton lobbies candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner On 9th April our Chair and Executive Director met the three main candidates for the post of Police & Crime Commissioner – Donna Jones, Tony Bunday and Richard Murphy.

Visit Southampton reopening campaign

This followed our letter in March 2020 expressing concern on the level of business crime in the city and querying the level of police resourcing allocated to Southampton. Following the 6th May election, the successful candidate Donna Jones has indicated to us that she will include business crime in her Policing & Crime Plan.

In April, to align with Step 1 of the Government’s roadmap, we launched a revival of our ‘We’ve Missed You SO Much – Welcome Back’ campaign to reassure and encourage local residents and workers back into the city centre post lockdown.

In 2020 GO! Southampton was featured on national media when it wrote to then-Police & Crime Commissioner Michael Lane.

Change The Way You Give scheme launches

Funded by GO! Southampton, the Street Support Action Group Southampton has launched a contactless donation giving scheme, supporting three local charities that provide support to rough sleepers.

We have installed six contactless donation points across the city centre, in which we hope visitors and residents will ‘change the way they give’ and donate to one of the charities.

There is also a dedicated website for donations, visit changesouthampton.co.uk

Deep cleaning programme Working with Southampton City Council, we will be introducing a deep cleaning programme from July to refresh and renew the city centre.

Our cleaning team will continue with hotwashing, gum removal and deep cleaning street furniture whilst we look at ways to remove unwanted graffiti and tackle fly tipping.

WE’RE SOOOOOOPEN

Staycation campaign

In March we began working with PR agency Blakeborough on a PR staycation campaign that looks to position Southampton as a regional destination for short stays during the summer as domestic travel becomes more popular due to COVID-19 restrictions. The agency has secured a number of press trips to the city with a host of different journalists as well as writing press releases and answering press calls for regional and national publications. Press coverage so far has had a reach of over one million and total value of £900,000.

The first wave of press trips has been organised for May-July 2021.

The campaign highlights businesses that are open in the city, things to see and do as well as key safety messaging.

We have promoted the campaign across our own channels (website, social, email), digital screens/ billboards in the city and in other publications.

Since its first launch in August 2020 this campaign has reached over 4.2 million people.

New to this campaign we produced ‘We’re SO Open’ assets specifically for businesses that could open on the 12 April and another set for those open on 17 May. Please email content@gosouthampton.co.uk to receive the partner toolkit so you can share across your channels to let customers know you are reopen and to support our citywide messaging.

WE’VE

MISSED YOU SO

MUCH WELCOME BACK! Southampton has been getting ready for your return. Enjoy your favourite places again and explore some of the new and exciting things happening at the heart of our safe city centre. SO welcome back.

visitsouthampton.co.uk/SOmuch

New photography service Earlier this year we launched our photography service to offer consumer-facing levy payers a free half day session with a professional photographer.

We understand how important it is, especially for reopening, that businesses have a strong bank of professional photos to help market to their customers.

If you would like to know more about the free service please email Flo at flo.bevis@gosouthampton.co.uk

New festival coming to Southampton this September Postponed from 2020, GO! Southampton is working with partners to create a brand new mass-participation event for the city centre.

This event will bring together the community through art, music, sports, dance, performance and much more. Keep your eyes peeled for more details.

Southampton Airport runway extension gets approved We are delighted that Councillors in Eastleigh have recently approved plans for the Southampton Airport runway extension, allowing the use of larger planes that can service more destinations. It protects existing jobs and creates new ones as well as safeguarding the city’s visitor economy ahead of what we hope will be Southampton’s year as UK City of Culture in 2025.

Earlier this year the BID wrote to Eastleigh’s Local Area Committee on behalf of GO! Southampton, Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Southampton Chamber of Commerce and ABP, outlining the advantages of the extension, and our Vice-Chair Caroline French subsequently spoke on video to the Committee itself – a presentation later shown to full Council.

UK City of Culture update May saw one of Southampton’s cultural jewels, the City Art Gallery reopening with Creating a National Collection, a unique collaboration with the National Gallery. Southampton City Art Gallery and the National Gallery have a longstanding historic partnership spanning the course of 90 years.

The exhibition features works by Monet, Gainsborough, Maggi Hambling and Paula Rego, and will also explore the historical links between the two galleries, a relationship that goes back to 1911. The exhibition has been co-curated by Southampton resident Jemma Craig, as part of the National Gallery Curatorial Traineeship programme, shining a light on Southampton’s young talent and the city being a place of opportunity.

This partnership highlights the importance of culture, and its role in the history of Southampton.

It’s a great example of why we’re bidding to be UK City of Culture, to create opportunities for young people, make change and boost the local economy.

As part of the launch for this national collaboration Southampton 2025 UK City of Culture bid team also revealed the bid brand.

F E I R IN B

Business events

During the most recent lockdown, we have been hosting virtual business events including business roundtables, Q&A sessions and an exciting virtual exchange event with the port city of Rotterdam. In partnership with the council and with funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, we organised six free half-day Mental Health courses for 100 Southampton business owners from January – March 2021.

Footfall cameras

GO! Southampton is working with Southampton City Council to install new footfall cameras across the city centre and district centres which are set to go live in the summer.

Data will be shared with levy payers regularly via our business bulletins. If you need any detailed information to help with internal reviews, please get in touch and we can provide upon request.

Love Local campaign The brand represents Southampton as a place of connections and plays reference to the city’s nautical connections with inspiration and design being taken from nautical day shapes and the bearings of a compass. The brand colours have been taken from the city’s coat of arms with blue once again being linked to Southampton’s rich maritime heritage.

GO! Southampton is a City Partner with the UK City of Culture 2025 bid, and is proud to support the ambition and opportunities that winning an accolade such as UK City of Culture 2025 will bring to our businesses and community.

In February we partnered with the council to support the Daily Echo’s Love Local campaign.

Running over six weeks the campaign celebrated local businesses and their continuing service to the community. The Daily Echo spotlighted a number of businesses who have been working hard to keep the city alive during lockdown via their print and digital publication.

Vinyl project

Working with MHA London, Studio B.A.D and Medway, we have been able to bring to life the old Argos unit on the High Street with a new window vinyl, created by local artist Nathan Evans who won a design competition we launched last year.

This forms part of our wider public art initiative to animate the public realm and our work towards the UK City of Culture 2025 bid.

Upcoming events

Crime Intelligence Briefing – 27th July, virtual Licensing Link Meeting – 9th August, Dancing Man Brewery We are also excited to be reintroducing our quarterly City Networking event in partnership with Unity 101 this summer. More information will be published in our business bulletins and on our social channels. You can also check our events page: gosouthampton.co.uk/events

S E C I V R E S R U O Cleaning

Our cleaning team can provide extra cleaning services to our members, including hot washing and graffiti removal. Reach them at cleaning@gosouthampton.co.uk

Security

Our security team will be patrolling the BID area seven days a week Monday - Saturday 10am to 8pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm, contact them on 07725 737236. Alternatively, through the SBCP you can hire out a radio to gain access to citywide CCTV and additional onsite support from the security team. To sign up, email sbcp@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. These 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 03330 156289 or email us at savings@gosouthampton.co.uk

Marketing

Our marketing team can help promote consumerfacing businesses via the Visit Southampton channels (website, social media and email). We can also promote B2B businesses via our GO! Southampton channels. Please get in touch with us at content@gosouthampton.co.uk to discuss how we can support you.

Rangers

Debbi our Ranger will continue to visit businesses and report environmental and cleaning issues around the BID area. You can contact her on rangers@gosouthampton.co.uk

Business Rates Consultancy

The BID is piloting a new free service, in association with leading city surveyor Vail Williams. If you believe you might be paying too much in business rates or that your rateable value or property description is incorrect, please email office@gosouthampton.co.uk. We will be able to link you to an expert at Vail Williams for a free half-hour consultation.

Waste Recycling

GO! Southampton has partnered 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.

Email us at recycling@gosouthampton.co.uk to sign up or visit gosouthampton.co.uk/ recycling for more information.

SIGN UP FOR REGULAR UPDATES To receive our regular email bulletins, please email info@gosouthampton.co.uk with your contact details.

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GO! Southampton • Business Improvement District • IncuHive Southampton, 182 High Street, Southampton SO14 2BY All information correct at time of going to print (June 2021)