National BIDs Conference 2022

Thank you for joining us

Thank you to those that joined us at the 2022 National BIDs Conference. It was a fantastic day of networking and connecting, and we’re already looking forward to the 2023 conference.

Take a look at the photos from the day here.

Thank you to our sponsor

Thank you to our National BIDs Conference sponsor for 2022 Blachere Illumination, who have been leading the way in commercial festive decorations for 45 years. Most recently, Blachere have been addressing plastic pollution with their Recyprint range, where plastic bottles are collected and used to create stunning illuminations. They are also a recognised partner with WWC thank to their eco-friendly products.

We hope you had the chance to catch up with the blachere team.

Thank you to our exhibitors

Our exhibitors at this year's conference were; LoyalFree, Plantscape, Odin Events, Selectamark, Miconex, Reveal Media, CEP Events and Sycomore (Vox Group). We hope you managed to pop over to their stands and discuss their latest products and services.

Helen Dickinson, OBE, British Retail Consortium

Helen leads the team and sets the strategic direction of the BRC. She joined in January 2013 and has been working with retailers for over 25 years. In 2016 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Retail.

Helen is passionate about diversity and inclusion in retail, acting as the BRC’s Social Mobility Commission ambassador; participating in the Timewise Innovation Unit, looking to support more flexibility in jobs, particularly at senior levels; supporting the Everywoman Retail Ambassadors Programme; and having previously been the Chair of Working Chance, a charity helping women offenders find employment.

Helen believes retail can make a strong contribution to communities, and is also on the advisory board for Pennies, a charity which offers digital charity boxes to businesses. Helen was previously UK Head of Retail at KPMG, driving and developing the retail practice and leading relationships and audits for many clients.

Professor Tony Travers

Tony Travers is a well-respected commentator on the public sector and local government, particularly as it relates to London. He is director of the LSE Greater London Group, a research centre at the London School of Economics. He is also a visiting professor in the LSE’s Government Department.

Tony will be discussing the current political landscape, how this affects BIDs and how the role of BIDs will evolve in the current financial climate. He will examine the importance of BID’s relationship with local authorities and how this will change.

Lucy Wilkins, Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

Lucy Wilkins is Deputy Director for Regeneration and Urban Policy. Previous roles in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities have included working on Levelling Up priorities and Deputy Director for Development Plans. Prior to working in DLUHC, Lucy has had a range of roles across Government, including in the Treasury, Cabinet Office, Foreign Office and BEIS.

Professor Emmeline Taylor

Professor Emmeline Taylor is a criminologist at City, University of London and has recently been appointed Chair of the BCRP National Standards Board. She sits on the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) (co-chaired by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Home Office Minister for Crime and Policing) and is a member of the Home Office’s Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) Steering Group. Professor Taylor has published widely on issues relating to crime and community safety, including six books, the most recent of which, Armed Robbers (Oxford University Press, 2022), reveals the complex motivations of 42 convicted criminals. She has recently completed research on business crime related topics commissioned by a range of clients, including the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), the Co-op, and West Midlands Police.

Dr Giulia Faggio

Giulia Faggio is a Reader in Economics, Department of Economics, at City, University of London and a Visiting Fellow at LSE Health. Giulia is an applied micro-economist with research interests in labour economics, urban economics and local economic development. Her recent work unearths: co-agglomeration patterns of manufacturing industries in the UK and their link to agglomeration economies; labour market effects of public sector worker relocations (both in the UK and Germany); the local impact of urban regeneration policies; differences in consumption patterns across UK cities. Giulia received a BSc and a MSc in Economics from Bocconi University in Italy, an Advanced Diploma from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, and a PhD in Economics from the KU Leuven in Belgium.

At the conference, Giulia will present a recent study on the impact of UK BIDs on crime using a novel data set on the total number of BIDs established in England and Wales between 2012-2017. She finds that BIDs are successful at reducing crime in their areas. The reduction in crime is stronger for shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and public order-related crimes. Effects depends on the intensity of the approach adopted as well as on the amount of resources devoted to crime prevention. The findings of this research provide a clear rationale for a greater involvement of a private organisation like BIDs into local schemes with the police and local councils working together to guarantee community safety.

Simon Jenner, BID Leicester

Simon’s background is in community development and the Voluntary and Community Sector, where he established and managed a series of large government funded initiatives. Bringing a strong commitment to collaboration and demonstrating impact, he moved into the world of BID’s in 2018 to lead BID Leicester in its first term.

BID Leicester’s work to date has been characterised by creative uses of technology and ambitious arts and culture projects that have gathered national and international coverage. Simon will share the vision behind these projects and discuss ways that BID’s can add value to places through art, culture and creativity.

Stephen Toal, Savills

Stephen is Head of Property Management Research at Savills. He is in charge of analysing Retail & Leisure performance, occupier opinion and visitor profiling across 150 shopping centres, 350 retail parks and 65 leisure schemes.

Stephen has 25 years’ experience in the Research sector and is author of the report “The Relationship Between Online Sales and Physical Stores – How Are Stores Dealing With Returns?