The BCRPs 12 crime prevention days of Christmas - day 9
Did you know that Brighton has a Business Improvement District (BID)?
A BID is a defined geographical area which involves all businesses located within it. Traders join together to fund improvements to their trading environment.
The first Brighton BID was introduced in September 2006 and consisted of around 300 traders all located in the heart of Brighton – parts of the North Laine, North Street and parts of The Lanes. During April 2011 the businesses in the BID were re-balloted, along with the addition of traders in Western Road and Preston Street to see if there was an appetite to enlarge the BID area. In March 2016, and again in May 2021, those businesses were balloted again to find out if they wanted to continue investing in Brighton City Centre.
Those votes were positive, and on the 1st July 2021 the latest BID came in to being. It will last for 5 years until 2021 and encompasses 517 city centre retail and hospitality businesses. The BID covers Western Road, Preston Street, North Street, parts of both The Lanes and The North Laine.
Over the next 5 years over £2.2m will be invested in Brighton city centre by its traders. The Brighton BID was formed to create a thriving, safe, clean and vibrant city centre that residents and visitors want to come back to time and time again. Brilliant Brighton will focus on creating a safer environment for visitors, producing exciting Christmas light displays and dressing the city for summer with hanging baskets and bunting.
One of the main projects for the BID are the Ambassadors who are supplied by Pagoda Security, after they successfully won the contract in July 2021.
This project provides four roaming ambassadors Monday through to Saturday 10:00-18:00 and Sundays from 11:00-17:00 (with the added support of Night time economy mobile support to those businesses)
The Ambassadors are vital to the city and play a huge role in preventing ASB and crime in the central area of the city. They work closely with partner agencies to share intelligence and support businesses through the crime reporting process. They are led by lead ambassador Harry Ratcliff who is essential in bringing the business communities needs to the forefront of partner agencies agendas. Not only do the ambassadors act as a resource for reducing crime and ASB but they have sought out rapport with a number of complex individuals in the city to help them seek out support for their needs.
The Ambassadors work closely with BCRP Intelligence Manager, Sarah Morris, to aid & inform partner agencies to make tactical decisions and to develop intelligence pictures to support further enforcement measures such as Community Protection Notices and Community Behaviour Orders (CBO’s).
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