Like many of you reading this I’m working from home (on my newly acquired yoga ball) with one eye on the children who are today “back at school”. So far, so good, heads are bent over books and laptops and the timetables we drew up together are being followed. However, I’ve little doubt that at some point this week they will be torn up or abandoned as the motivational challenge gets too great.
Keeping up our motivation and staying focussed is hard when you’re working with uncertainty, when you’re dealing with things you’ve never dealt with before and you’re constantly bombarded with information. In this situation it’s difficult managing the day to day, let alone carving out the space and time to think clearly about “what next”, let alone what comes after “next”. As a Business Improvement District (BID), supporting over 500 businesses across the retail, hospitality and leisure, professional services and public sectors that’s what we need to try and do. Up until now, our primary role has been to promote King’s Lynn town centre as a place to visit, shop, relax, work, do business. It’s about boosting footfall and dwell time, shining a light on all the brilliant sights and services that you can find in our town.
Clearly that role isn’t appropriate right now so instead we’ve focussed on signposting our members to reputable and reliable sources of advice, connecting them to people and organisations that might be able to help. We’re listening and gathering issues to champion with our local authority and MP, and collecting up ideas and information from other BIDs and national sources to fuel our thinking about “what next”.
Working on recovery and beyond recovery to thriving excites and motivates me, guided in part by a blind optimism that things will get better and by the everyday stories of businesses who are adapting and developing. Piecing together ideas to form a plan will involve more listening, understanding, mapping and gathering inspiration from right across the sectors that we support, as well as tapping into the mood of the consumer; there’s a lot of talking (and reflecting) to be done!
In addition, I will draw on the invaluable insights and experiences of our national bodies; British BIDs, ATCM and The BID Foundation who at this time are undertaking very similar tasks to us as a BID, just on a different level. They have been working to ensure that Government is receiving evidence and information about the impact of Covid-19 on town centre economies as well as the impact on organisations like BIDs. This latest survey for MHCLG will provide specific data relating to occupiers and landlords, it will be used to further understanding about the vulnerability of particular places and will inform decisions about programmes of support. If you can find 5 minutes with a cuppa to complete it, your input would be much valued.
Take part in the survey survey now.