Southend BID Newsletter August/September 2017

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ���7

BIDNEWS

ZONE

A U G U S T NEWSLETTER I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT TO YOU, SOUTHEND BID’S

This is the fifth newsletter of the year that has consistently updated you on our events, projects and initiatives.

For ten days, the Estuary Fringe Fest took place to incorporate two brand new BID-led events - Southend Art Trail and PaintFest - both of which received a very positive response.

August also saw the launch of our educational campaign with Southend’s homeless charity, HARP, as well as the introduction of anti-litter projects, the specifics of which you will learn more about as you read on.

We will be communicating more about DISC, Southend’s crime database exclusive to levy-paying businesses and Friends of the BID and its importance. As reiterated by the police, DISC is an extremely important tool that must be used recurrently. It provides valuable intel on those individuals causing detrimental effect to your business, resulting in the appropriate action taking place. Please read on to find a detailed description of its usage and important functions.

I hope you enjoy reading about what we are getting up to.

Best Wishes,

Alison Dewey BID Manager

45

www.southendbid.com

29

artists & businesses took part in Southend’s first BID-led Art Trail

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ���7

SOUTHEND ART TRAIL AND PAINTFEST The Estuary Fringe Fest began on Friday 4th August and ran until Sunday 13th August. As part of the event, Southend BID brought an Art Trail and PaintFest to Southend for the first time.

The live interactive street art project took place on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th August at the High Street’s former BHS store, providing a large backdrop for a series of dramatic paintings.

The four hoardings have now undertaken a colourful makeover in time for the summer, having been replaced with beautiful and eye-catching pieces by local talent Scotty of Brave Arts, Mr Frisbee, London-based Mr Cenz, and Barcelona-based artist Harry Bones.

It has received numerous positive comments and is an interesting focal point in the High Street to be appreciated by both those working and visiting Southend, as well as celebrating and encouraging the area’s influential cultural presence.

ANTI-LITTER CAMPAIGN This month, Southend BID will be introducing a new initiative that will focus on improving anti-littering, cleansing and the environmental footprint.

The use of a series of innovative and exciting apparatus will be installed across the High Street and seafront – a project that has not previously been adopted in Southend.

The campaign includes the following: • Ballot bins – 21 bins designed specifically to discard of cigarette ends in a slot of your choice.

• Gumdrop bins – 20 polymer containers to dispose of chewing gum hygienically.

The container and its contents are later recycled into everyday objects, including pencils.

• Voice bins – three interactive waste bins with a sound function to encourage visitors to remove of their waste responsibly. These will be placed on the seafront with a view to expanding the scheme onto the High Street. Southend is the first location in the South East to have these installed.

All containers are branded with the BID logo and are brightly coloured for maximum visibility and presence. They are bright, eye-catching and will become a leading topic of conversation for the town. The brand new campaign will also be featured in a promotional video to be used across our social media channels and website to further endorse the project.

Cleaning and streetscape improvements will also be taking place at Pier Hill, the bedding of which will be re-planted and replenished with more robust and established planting.

disc southend bid launch event Southend BID and its Directors would like to invite you as a levy-paying business, to the free and exclusive launch of its second business plan on Wednesday 20th September from 6pm until 7.30pm at The Royal Hotel.

It is very important that you attend as it gives you the opportunity to take a look at the key themes and projects as outlined for BID 2: 2018-2023, whilst enjoying a hot buffet and alcoholic or soft drink. Please register your place by Wednesday 7th September at www.southendbid.com/launch-event.

Alternatively, RSVP via email at hello@southendbid.com or confirm your attendance by informing a Street Ranger.

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As discussed in the last retail against crime meeting, it is crucial that your business has regular usage of DISC – Southend’s secure and members only crime reduction database.

It is designed to share valuable data and store the details of prolific or targeted persons for police and the purpose of identification, in addition to other features including providing awareness, procedure documents and the most relevant news.

Its latest function is Instant Messages (IMs). DISC users can now share urgent and important information between one another quicker than before. The advantage is that the user has control of messages sent and can share personal data without causing detriment to the Data Protection Act. If you require DISC training or an account set up, please contact us by sending an email to

hello@southendbid.com

childsafe scheme Southend BID will be continuing to push the ChildSafe scheme, particularly throughout the summer school holidays. If you require a delivery of additional wristbands, please email:

HELLO@SOUTHENDBID.COM

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ���7

UPCOMING

EVENTS

The Italian Festival and Supercar Parade will take place across the town centre on Saturday 2nd September. Incorporating cars, Italian food and drink, crafts, music, art and more – plus this year’s event will have the addition of even more supercars. The annual event will be heavily promoted on the Visit Southend website and across its social media channels.

65,000 Over

During July, the Southend website had over

users accessed the Visit Southend website in July for

374,000

83,000

page views

sessions

harp campaign launch On Thursday 10th August, Southend BID launched its educational campaign in partnership with Southend’s homeless charity, HARP, alongside a printed educational booklet.

Targeted at members of the public in how they can best help with homelessness in Southend, the brochure includes tear-off vouchers for use at HARP in order to encourage service user engagement. The guides will be distributed throughout the town centre and can be downloaded from the Southend BID website.

Attended by other local organisations, charities and politicians, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, Essex Police and the Southend BID Directors, the event ran extremely well. The team were able to liaise with the public, encouraging them to redirect their generosity to local homeless charities that offer real long-term help rather than hand over cash to those who purport to be homeless.

visit southend Visit Southend has recently been given a refreshed layout in time for the summer period. In addition, a new function has been introduced which allows visitors to purchase Greater Anglia train tickets directly via Visit Southend’s ‘Getting Here’ page - the website receives an ever-growing number of visitors from London.

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