Improving economic prosperity, enhancing the environment and increasing footfall: Plymouth Waterfront Partnership Business Improvement District (PWP BID) has shared its plan to achieve all these aims with the launch of a new business plan for 2022 to 2027.
PWP BID currently represents around 900 businesses located all around the edge of the city’s Waterfront from Mount Batten to Royal William Yard and Millbay, encompassing the Barbican, Bretonside, Sutton Harbour and Plymouth Hoe.
The new business plan, BID3, sets out a new ambitious vision for the Waterfront area: ‘Creating the Waterfront of Tomorrow, Today!’. There are four key, inter-related themes at the heart of the plan, which align with wider city plans:
- Transformational: Supporting the physical aspects of the Waterfront, including the creation of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, working to connect neighbourhoods, and improving the resident and visitor experience
- Vibrant Tourist Destination: Increasing visitor numbers and spend by working in partnership with Destination Plymouth and visitor attractions, hosting events, supporting and growing cultural assets and the hospitality sector, and maximising marketing opportunities.
- Environmental Excellence: As well as committing to the environmental sustainability of the Waterfront, ensuring it’s an attractive and welcoming place (e.g. removing graffiti, reporting environmental issues, maintaining street furniture)
- Business Voice: Giving BID levy payers a collective voice, bringing the diverse local business community together and advocating for the area at a local, regional and national level
Waterfront businesses will be asked to vote in favour of the plans during the BID’s renewal starting on the 27 October and concluding on the 25 November this year.
Chair of PWP, Nick Buckland OBE said: “We’re delighted to be presenting the new PWP business plan, which will carry us through to 2027. We have listened to our businesses, taking their feedback on board and worked closely with partner organisations to develop a plan that supports the eclectic and vibrant Waterfront business community.
“We’ve achieved a huge amount in the last ten years: attracting more visitors, reducing business costs and creating more attractive places. But there’s even more potential to unlock, which we can do together with the support of businesses.”
Councillor Nick Kelly, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “There’s a reason we are known as Britain’s Ocean City – the Waterfront is one of Plymouth’s most precious assets and the area has so much potential.
“A huge amount of work has been done by PWP over the last ten years, but there’s so much more to come. The new business plan has very clear goals and we’ll continue to work closely with PWP to achieve them, supporting businesses, bringing in more investment and making it a better place to live, work and visit.”
The BID3 business plan is available to read in full at www.waterfrontbid.co.uk