We are very pleased to announce the appointment of the new BID Project Co-ordinator: Lisa Drake, who is managing the day- to-day running of the Ilkley BID office. Some of you will have met Lisa already during the Discover Ilkley engagement campaign and the Ilkley Gift Card sign up process. Lisa will be your main point of contact with regards to any BID related enquiries.
Lisa can be contacted by email: info@ilkleybid.co.uk or telephone: 07884 376057.
I am continuing to work with the BID team 2 days a week and will be supporting Lisa in her new role. I can still be contacted on the main BID email - if you have any queries specifically for me, please include ‘FTAO Helen’ in the subject line and Lisa will make sure this is brought to my attention.
This month we are pleased to confirm the appointment of two new Directors, Cassie Bowley and Sarah Barr-Young. Cassie is the owner of Fresh Health & Beauty situated on Railway Road and has traded in the town for many years. Sarah Barr-Young is the Managing Partner at Stowe Family Law who have offices on Church Street.
Our Discover Ilkley marketing is gathering momentum with both website page views and unique visitors seeing a 300% increase in March and social media reach increasing significantly – and this was before Ilkley was named as The Best Place To Live in the UK by The Sunday Times! We’re looking forward to seeing the April figures!
The BID office was contacted by The Sunday Times in the middle of March and 3 of the team met with the reporter to talk about all things Ilkley. We subsequently provided them with further commentary and photographs in advance of the big announcement and it was lovely to see the buzz around town when the news went live. On what was a beautiful Spring morning with Ilkley really looking its best, Times Radio broadcast live from Toast House, and Rombalds Radio broadcast from the BID Meeting room.
As always, if you need any further information about any of our projects or want to get involved in any way, please drop us a line.
All the best,
Helen
Helen Rhodes
BID Manager
Ilkley Gift Card Launch 5th May 2022 Many of you are now set up to accept the Ilkley Gift Card which is due to launch on 5th May. For those that have not yet signed up please go to:https://form.jotform.com/220754182012344and complete the short form.
If you experience any setup issues there is a FAQ Page here or you can get in touch with us at: info@ilkleybid.co.uk.
The Ilkley Gift Card encourages consumers to shop locally so that spend is locked into the local economy, boosting trade and securing jobs.
The Gift Card scheme is already a proven success in other towns and city centres, with figures showing that people who redeem gift cards on average spend 65% more than the value received.
All businesses in Ilkley that have a card reader are able to be a part of the scheme for free, and there are no additional costs or training needs for merchants.
Street Cleaning
Keeping Ilkley’s town Centre looking good and attractive is just one of our many priorities to ensure Ilkley is a vibrant town to visit, live and work. The paved areas on Grove Promenade, Cunliffe Road, The Grove, Brook Street and Cankers Well Area have been cleaned and scrubbed by a local contractor and funded by the ARG as part of the government grants for encouraging people back to the high streets.
One of the issues tackling the street cleaning project has been addressing the removal of chewing gum and you will notice the team have been working hard. There's a noticeable difference in the cleanliness of the pavements.
Work continues on other areas of the town and we are very pleased with the results so far.
Digital Health Checks Ilkley BID will soon be offering digital health checks to BID Businesses. We understand that every business is different with different requirements and technical abilities so after an initial review, all participating business will receive at least one of the following services free of charge.
- Social Media Set Up
- Social Media Tutorial (includes access to free tools and how to manage your posts)
- Mailchimp Set Up
- Mailchimp Tutorial
- Website check
- Website tutorial*
- Website Amendments*
(*Subject to current platform used)
We will also check your Google listing, list your business on the Sparking Bradford and Discover Ilkley websites (or check your listing if already registered) and register you on the LoyalFree platform and show you how to use the dashboard.
To take up this service with a professional marketing company could potentially cost up to £50 per hour so we encourage all businesses in need of some digital support to take advantage of this bespoke one to one offer.
It will be available on a first come, first served basis so please do get in touch ASAP to reserve your slot as this is only available to a limited amount of businesses.
Become a Plastic Free Champion
Join the new Plastic Free Shopping Trail
To achieve the Plastic Free Champion Award your business needs to remove at least three single-use plastic items and show a commitment to tackling any others present in the business. Once done you will be awarded your Plastic Free Champion plaque and certificate and you will be able to feature your business on the LoyalFree llkley Bid Sustainable Shopping Trail and Plastic Free Ilkley social media.
We know many of you are already taking steps to make your businesses more eco-friendly so why not shout about it? Join other participating Ilkley businesses including; Community Cutlery, Friends of Ham, Lishman’s of Ilkley, Little Beacon, Milestone Design, Toast House, Tyler James Pet Supplies and Waste Not Ilkley who have already reduced their plastic footprint and have proudly received their award.
To register your interest today, please email: plasticfreeilkley@gmail.com with your name, business name, address and phone number and they will be in touch to assist you in the process.
Meeting Room As part of our committment to support the businesses we have made the Town Hall meeting room available to BID businesses once a month free of charge. For those that need to hold a meeting and do not have the space the Ilkley BID room is ideal. The room seats 12 people comfortably and is equipped with digital facilities for video calls and presentations, a white board for brainstorming sessions, a coffee machine and refreshments with an honesty box.
To book the room please get in touch: info@ilkleybid.co.uk.
Marketing the Town
Leeds TV Films - Ilkley Night Life As part of our commitment to market the town and encourage footfall, our latest film promotes the fantastic nightlife scene in Ilkley and showcases the great restaurants, bars and pubs available to residents and visitors to the town. Thank you to Colin at Friends of Ham who was interviewed for the film and to The Olive Branch, The Ticket Office and Fuggle and Golding for allowing the camera man to film their venues.
The key message of the short film is that Ilkley is a great night out whether you are coming for a few drinks, having a meal or watching a show and this can be seen as the film captures many venues and the various interesting and exciting choices of evening entertainment and hospitality options available.
The film is being aired on local TV channels: Freeview 7, Virgin 159 and Sky 195between Wednesday 27th April and Sunday 1st May on a rolling loop within the Yorkshire region.
All the Discover Ilkley films are available to watch now on the Discover Ilkley YouTube channel here: YouTube Channel
Upcoming Networking Sessions This week we hosted our first lunch time networking session and would like to thank local BID Moin Moin for their excellent catering service. We have more planned over the next few months (dates to be confirmed) with some taking place at lunch time and some after 5pm, covering all days of the week to try to offer a time that suits everyone.
Spaces at each session are limited so if you would like to come along, meet some fellow Ilkley business owners / managers and enjoy complimentary food and drink provided by our local hospitality please get in touch with info@ilkleybid.co.uk and indicate if you prefer a lunch or teatime session. We will then try to arrange a good mix of businesses at each event which will be held in the newly refurbished meeting room at the Town Hall.
Marketing the Town - Leeds Bradford Airport
As part our our marketing campaign which was funded by the ARG grant, we have arranged for Ilkley to be advertised in the arrivals area of Leeds Bradford Airport. To encourage new visitors and increase footfall to the town, the large advertisement highlights the hospitality and retail section and promotes the Ilkley Gift Card and new Discover Ilkley App.
If you haven't received a copy of our quarterly printed newsletter which is packed with information about the BID activities over the last year and future plans for the town, please get in touch: info@ilkleybid.co.uk and we will arrange for one to be sent to you.
AND ALSO....
We’re looking for BID members to become board directors. All applications are welcome, but a background in accountancy or finance would be an advantage. Get in touch to apply - info@ilkleybid.co.uk
We are still continuing with the following projects:
BID Funded & Subsidised Courses - online learning platform with free and part funded courses for BID businesses and their staff. Visit: https://bidslearning.vc-enable.co.uk.
The BID Photography service is still available to BID businesses. We will arrange for local photographer, Heidi Marfitt to take photographs of you and your team, your products, or of your business in general, whichever you choose. You'll be entitled to two fully edited shots, with the option to purchase further shots at a discounted price. You'll be able to use all of the shots taken on your website, social media, marketing collateral or however you like. Ilkley BID is funding this for 10 businesses per month on a first come, first served basis, so please contact us at info@ilkleybid.co.uk to put your business on the list for this great opportunity.
LoyalFree - if you have not yet registered to use LoyalFree please send an email to info@loyalfree.co.ukto your register your business or get in touch for help with registering.
The Fitting Room, Panache, and Richard Grafton have taken advantage of the Photography service.
