We're
Term Two Newsletter #4
Creating a world-class experience for all who visit, live and work in Cambridge, a global city
October 2020
Safely welcoming visitors return to Cambridge city centre All sectors of our own city have felt the unwelcome impact of Covid-19. Cambridge is well placed to make a strong comeback, and here at Cambridge BID we are well positioned to aid that recovery. Since March 2020, we have been assisting businesses in the following ways:
Business Support • Working with Cambridge City Council to assist hundreds of businesses get their government grants using our detailed database • Helping many businesses with their furlough issues • Hosting weekly webinars guiding businesses through these challenging times, including advice on closing their business, grants, furlough scheme, Cbils, Bounce Back Loans and more • Developing a weekly footfall report that allows businesses to see changes very quicky and respond accordingly • Continuing our street cleaning and rapid response programme • Encouraging dozens of businesses to apply for licences for table and chairs to increase their space and trade • Distributing free social distancing floor stickers to over 200 businesses including many multiples • Unfurloughing from June 15th our onstreet Ambassador team to give advice to businesses about queuing and onstreet help to visitors to the city • Continued to pay Cambac business crime partnership membership fees for Levy Payers who have a Cambac radio
Local Authority collaboration • Working with Cambridge City Council for them to offer free parking to NHS and Key workers from April and this continues today • Lobbying the County Council to not introduce 10am - 6pm road restrictions across the city centre • Working with Cambridge City Council on the introduction of the current £1 per hour parking offer from Aug - Oct 2020 • Working with Mayor James Palmer on the Cambridge and Peterborough city reopening project
Marketing and PR • Supporting a comprehensive PR and Marketing campaign around residents and visitors returning to Cambridge • Creating the current 'Opening Cambridge Safety' campaign that is running in the Cambridge Independent newspaper
National Lobbying Working with the British BIDs advisory board we have lobbied central Government on a number of key issues • Supporting the national 'Raise the bar' Campaign for businesses with a rateable value of more than £51K who did not get one of the main government grants • Supporting the initial furlough scheme extension to the end of October • Making Government aware the initial CBIL’s loan scheme was not working, resulting in the successful Bounce Back loan scheme being created