Falmouth BID Updates

Falmouth for Business Initiative

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

Many of you will have seen the new wallpaper designs on the ex Bon Marche site that celebrate our vibrant local business scene while proactively tidying up a vacant unit as we have done several times before. This is one strand of a wider Falmouth for Business initiative just launched that seeks to do several things but in essence – celebrate what we have while working hard to attract more investment into Falmouth.  If you would like to see some of the business images taken do visit the Celebrating our Businesses page here.   We aim to take a selection of these images on a roadshow – starting locally in The Poly for a 2 week exhibition 21 Jan -4 Jan 2013 before taking it further afield. The reason is as I say is to do all we can to celebrate and showcase the vibrant, good quality businesses we have here.

Falmouth projects online

The wide range of projects now delivered by the Famouth BID are available online. Do feel free to have a browse here – FALMOUTH BID PROJECTS. Download the BID business plans, read about the projects delivered under the four BID Priority areas that aim to help support businesses and drive forward Falmouth.

Letter from Sec of State

I have now received a reply back from the Sec of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin. To recap, BID sent a letter to him regards the vital rail link between London and Cornwall requesting that any future rail franchise recognises its important role in the economic vitality of the region and the need for faster, more efficient services. Mr McLoughlin has confirmed that the issues raised will form part of future discussions (which have been put on hold pending the outcome of reviews into the West Coast Line Franchise process fiasco).

Special Offers Section

I’m working with the Visitor Information Centre to put together a special offers page on the homepage of the www.falmouth.co.uk to further support businesses especially as we come into perhaps a quieter period of the year. This isn’t restricted to accommodation providers. All BID businesses can submit an offer/promotion – cafes, restaurants, retail outlets etc. Bearing in mind as I’ve mentioned several times, that the BID funded Falmouth.co.uk is now the main site for the area with over 25,000 unique hits per month, this is another excellent opportunity for you. Can I ask you contact Nicola Kneebone nicola@falriver.co.uk who is coordinating on my behalf with any info. We will then take a look at it.

High St Taskforce
I thought you may be interested to read about the High St taskforce that has been established (one of Mary Portas’s recommendation in her High Street Review) – HIGH ST TASKFORCE.

HMS Bounty
On a much more sombre note, the tall-ship replica HMS Bounty that visited Falmouth last year, sank in mountainous Atlantic seas yesterday, a victim of Hurricane Sandy. Thoughts and prayers to those affected.

Falmouth for Business Initiative Launched

Richard Gates & Richard Wilcox, Falmouth Town Team

Attracting more quality business ideas and start-ups to Falmouth, providing substantive on and offline business information and support while celebrating the existing diverse business community of Falmouth are all part of the new Falmouth for Business project being launched this month by the Falmouth Town Team (partnership between Falmouth BID and Falmouth Town Management).

The development of a comprehensive online business resource ‘Falmouth for Business’ on the official website for the town www.falmouth.co.uk, will be supplemented with offline, targeted, business to business information about Falmouth, collaborating with commercial agents, University College Falmouth and University of Exeter business teams to ensure a co-ordinated approach. 

A selection of the Celebrating Falmouth Businesses images can be viewed HERE

As Richard Wilcox, the Falmouth BID Manager explains:
“The project has several strands. Firstly I want Falmouth to do all it can to seek competitive advantage as well as promoting itself more effectively to a new business audience. We get numerous enquiries from potential investors which is terrific, but it highlights the need to provide much better, more substantive economic data and other relevant information on Falmouth to them. Such a professional can-do approach may just ensure that a business chooses to invest in Falmouth over another area of the country. The second strand is a proactive offshoot of the BID High Street Campaign which aims to celebrate the wide range of quality businesses that exist already in the town. To that end, BID has commissioned a Falmouth based photographer Hugh Hastings to capture that vibrant business spirit which we will then look to take on a Celebrating Falmouth Businesses exhibition roadshow locally and nationally so as to tell the Falmouth business story far and wide.”

Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager added:
“The Falmouth for Business initiative is another great example of the Falmouth Town Team (Falmouth Town Council working proactively with Falmouth BID) resource helping to support Falmouth and its businesses in a variety of ways. The new images of businesses that are being taken by Hugh Hastings look terrific and we have also designed new vacant unit wallpaper vinyl to showcase some of them. We work with numerous other organisations to help keep the vacant unit rate for Falmouth as low as possible – it currently stands at 5.8% making Falmouth the lowest in the South West (national average is 14%) – but if a site does become vacant in the town we look to improve its appearance as quickly and innovatively as possible.”

Falmouth-based photographer Hugh Hastings has lived in the town for 18 years and has always enjoyed the diversity of the local shops:
"Buying online or from vast supermarkets can only give you limited satisfaction, frankly there's so much more to life than saving a few quid. The shopping streets of Falmouth are one of the main reasons I chose to live here. The Falmouth shops and the people who work in them create a great atmosphere; they are the heart of the town in many ways. Working with the Falmouth BID team to promote the great things we have here has been a real pleasure and I look forward to developing the project further in the coming months."

Barney Peters, Partner at Scott Burridge Commercial added:
“As retail property agents it is great to see the proactive work that the Falmouth Town Team put into the town centre, the improvements, signage and attention they show greatly improves Falmouth’s town centre. We are pleased to work with them on a number of our client’s properties adding vibrancy and interest in empty units which await re-letting or the finalisation of new leases.”

Key points:

* The developing Falmouth for Business online section can be viewed via www.falmouth.co.uk
* Local exhibition of Celebrating Falmouth Businesses will run in The Poly, Falmouth from 21 Jan – 4 Feb 2013 New
* Celebrating Falmouth Businesses wallpaper vinyl installed at the ex Bon Marche store

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager can be emailed via richardwilcox@falmouth.co.uk Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager can be emailed via richard@falmouth.co.uk Falmouth Town Team Office can be contacted via 01326 313353

Pulse of the High Street

Newsletter October 2012

Info from the Local Data Company:

So the big question everyone is asking us is, how is the increased closures of multiple retailers and the slowdown in independents expansion going to impact vacancy rates and where? Analysis of the first half of the year shows that a NET 953 multiples closed in the top 500 town centres, versus a NET 175 closures for the whole of 2011. This reduction would have been greater if we had not seen expansion from £ shops, pawnbrokers and cheque cashing operators. Of interest is the slow down in the growth of convenience stores, which might imply saturation, but then again Little Waitrose, M Local and others have rollout plans in action. Outside of town centres, the real area to watch is the role of petrol stations as the next new retail hub. The fact so many of us have cars and the need on average to refuel weekly has not been missed by the supermarkets and others, including Starbucks as they launch their drive through offer.

Independents now account for 67% (+1%) of all high street units and as such are heavily exposed to the declining footfall in town centres that will be further impacted in those towns where multiples are exiting. The good news is that despite these challenges, including rising rents, rates and parking charges, independents still managed to grow by 0.8% in the first half of 2012. This is a NET increase of 852 by number. The leisure and service sectors were the main drivers, with growth from cafes, nail salons, tattooing and piercing, takeaway food shops and pawnbrokers.

Whilst this highlights the dying and thriving sectors, it is more important to note that these changes are creating a fundamental change in the appearance, function and perceived health of our high streets. Every town is changing in a different way but what the data shows is that traditional 'comparison goods' shops are closing and being replaced by discounters, non internet services and alternative forms of 'banking', such as cheque cashing and pawnbroking. The overall long term impact on the traditional businesses still in place is being played out and one that we will continue to track with our army of field researchers.

Finally, the national shop vacancy rate for September showed a marginal decrease of -0.01% to 14.57% which is positive news but in light of what is said above, is this the calm before the storm?

 <http://localdatacompany.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=739beb262c0817edd639eaf51&id=9076e9a4a6&e=6b822dc0e8>

FREE car parking

Cornwall Council is offering free parking in a number of Council run car parks in main towns in Cornwall on 31 October as part of a campaign to encourage people to use their local town centres.

The Go To Town campaign to get more people using town centres in Cornwall was set up by the West Briton, Cornish Guardian and Cornishman newspapers in February.  At that time the Council offered free parking in some town centre car parks on February 29 through a voucher scheme in the paper.

The newspapers are keen to stage a second free parking day on 31 October and approached the Council to see if it would repeat its offer.

Although the authority was keen to back the campaign, there was concern that providing free parking would put additional pressure on the parking budget.  However, former leader Alec Robertson agreed to use some of the Leader’s Contingency Fund to cover the loss of income.

Under the terms of the offer free parking will be available after 9.30 am on Wednesday, 31 October in some Cornwall Council run car parks in the following towns:

• Bodmin
• Bude
• Callington
• Camborne
• Falmouth
• Fowey
• Hayle
• Helston
• Launceston
• Liskeard
• Looe
• Mevagissey
• Newquay
• Padstow
• Penryn
• Penzance
• Porthleven
• Redruth
• Saltash
• St Austell

• St Ives
• Torpoint
• Truro
• Wadebridge

Please note that the free parking offer is not valid before 9.30am and only applies to some Cornwall Council run car parks and not to any other car parks in the town.

The voucher is not valid in the following car parks:

• Bodmin, Dennison Road;
• Bude, Post Office
• Callington, New Road North
• Falmouth,  Grove Place, The Moor, Well Lane, Church Street
• Launceston, Castle Street, Pannier Market;
• Liskeard, Upper Sungirt, Westbourne;
• Looe, Riverbank;
• Mevagissey, Church Street;
• Newquay, Fore Street;
• Penryn,Saracen
• Penzance, Greenmarket, Causewayhead, Penalverne;
• St Austell, West Hill - Short stay area;
• St Ives, The Sloop, Porthmeor;
• Saltash, Belle Vue West, Culver Road;
• Torpoint, Antony Road;
• Truro, Old Bridge Street;
• Wadebridge, Goldsworthy Way

To qualify for free parking a voucher must be displayed clearly in the front windscreen of the vehicle.  The voucher is being printed in local newspapers and will be available on the Cornwall Council website. 

The vehicle must also be parked in accordance with the terms and conditions of the car park and failure to abide by the terms of the offer may lead to the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice.

BID Best Practice

British Retail Consortium – inclusion of Falmouth BID project in annual report

The BRC is the UK’s authoritative voice of retail, recognised for its powerful campaigning and influence within government and as a provider of excellent retail information. They produce an annual report on the UK High Street and are keen to include one of Falmouth BID’s projects as an example of best practice. 

They will highlight how the BID spearheaded Falmouth brand and destination marketing campaign helped to foster a unique sense of place and helped with the promotion and profile raising of the town. 

This is really good recognition on a national level again and follows on from the BID FREE car parking project being highlighted by the British BIDs in their annual report.

Falmouth video

Check out Falmouth video we've co-ordinated and thanks to John Waplington for producing this. The only downer is the fact you have to put up with my partner in crime at the beginning but don't let that put you off :)

Falmouth BID Updates

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

Falmouth Oyster Festival

The BID this year has funded a new event in an effort to grow and develop the Oyster Festival so that it ultimately encompasses many other venues across the town. The Food & Folk event will be taking place on the Saturday and Sunday on The Moor and will feature numerous food outlets from across Falmouth showcasing their wares. The BID has also provided PR and marketing support to enable us to promote Falmouth once again to as wide an audience as possible. Confirmed press trips and subsequent articles will include:

·         BBC Olive magazine

·         MSN Food

·         The Guardian

·         Reading Post

·         Delicious Magazine

In addition, numerous BBC Radio Cornwall interviews have been secured as well as features in regional newspapers and magazines such as Cornwall Today, Western Morning News on top of local newspaper coverage.

PR recent achievements

Following on from the above we are also continuing to drive at a rate of knots, the PR campaign for Falmouth. Our strategic efforts to promote Falmouth to a much wider audience in order to raise profile and attract extra visitors has meant we have now passed the £600,000 mark in terms of national coverage and 70 BID businesses being mentioned, profiled or supported. The latest two:

·         BA Highlife magazine – one of the highest profile in-travel magazines, this being the in-flight magazine for British Airways. Audience 3.4million. We featured in an article that profiled 12 great towns that the Olympic Torch passed through.

·         Birmingham Mail – we also target regional newspapers and this double page spread all about Falmouth is another great example of the sort of coverage that has been secured.

You can also view a much fuller range of coverage here – FALMOUTH COVERAGE

BID Letter to Transport Secretary

Mr P McLoughlin
Secretary of State for Transport House of Commons, Westminster SW1A 1AA

Dear Mr McLoughlin

I write with reference to the vital mainline rail service connection between London/the South East and the West Country, and on behalf of the Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID), a body that represents a community of over 400 businesses from one of Cornwall’s largest and most prosperous resorts.

The Falmouth area welcomes over 500,000 visitors annually and the BID drives forward numerous, innovative projects (www.falmouth.co.uk/media) that aim to give Falmouth a competitive advantage, support its diverse range of businesses and encourage opportunity despite the prevailing challenges arising from current economic conditions.

In addition, Falmouth’s maritime sector has a reputation for excellence that extends beyond the UK and the recently outlined Port of Falmouth Masterplan is seen as one of the most critical economic development strategies for the region. It is one that will see a multi-million pound investment in Falmouth Docks to ensure its viability and competiveness for a generation, securing thousands of jobs and livelihoods in the process.
Falmouth and its neighbouring town, Penryn have also seen multi-million pound public sector investment during the past decade in the development of a flagship university campus at Tremough.

Shared and jointly managed by University College Falmouth, which is regarded as one of the UK’s leading arts universities and the University of Exeter, that has recently been invited to join the Russell Group of leading research institutions, the Campus is the County’s Higher Education hub; the catalyst for Cornwall’s economic regeneration as part of the European-funded Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative; and is a key driver of new business incubation in the south west, particularly in the areas of environmental sustainability and the creative industries.

A reliable, frequent and speedy rail service between Penzance and Paddington is vital to the continuing success of our tourism, maritime, higher education, environmental and creative industry sectors. When you evaluate bids for the Great Western franchise shortly, we would therefore urge you to ensure that:

1. The number of trains operating the London Paddington – Penzance route remains at least the same as now and is not reduced.
2. There is a thorough review of service that focuses on ways in which the journey time between London Paddington and Penzance can be reduced. Faster trains, with fewer station stops at certain times of day/week would open up business opportunities for the region, ensuring synergy with the positive developments that are taking place in the County in the sectors referred to above.

The demand for cross-country and regional rail services clearly exists and this is no better exemplified than by the 90% increase in usage of the branch Truro-Falmouth Maritime Line over the past five years making it the fastest growing branch line in the country. Whilst we are relieved that the future of this branch line has been secured, as well as the sleeper service to Paddington, Cornwall’s future depends on improved rail services. Quite simply it is a lifeline that connects Cornwall to the rest of the UK.

The Falmouth BID very much hopes that the coalition Government and future West Country rail service provider can work collaboratively and innovatively with key regional business organisations to ensure that Cornwall is positioned to potential visitors and investors as an attractive proposition by rail.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

Richard Wilcox Falmouth BID Manager

Cc Falmouth BID Board Mrs Sarah Newton, MP for Falmouth and Truro and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Mr George Eustice, MP for Camborne and Redruth Mr Kevin Lavery, Chief Executive, Cornwall Council Ms Suzanne Bond, Chief Executive, Cornwall Development Company Cllr Mr Alec Robertson, Leader of Cornwall Council Mr Peter Child, Managing Director, A&P Falmouth Mr Henk Wiekens - Joint Managing Director, Pendennis Shipyard Professor Anne Carlisle, Rector, University College Falmouth Mr Steve Trotter, Assistant Director, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus Mr Chris Pomfret, Chairman, Cornwall & IOS Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Cornwall Town Manager and BID Forum Mr Malcolm Bell, Head of VisitCornwall Cllr Mr Geoffrey Evans, Mayor of Falmouth Mr Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager