Go Forth Stirling: key proposals for the second term
Without the ballot and the strong show of support received, Go Forth would have ceased to exist on 31 August this year.
Stirling’s BID, which launched in September 2017, is one of 37 active Scottish BIDs and one of 333 across the UK as a whole.
Each BID works to enhance their city’s high street experience delivering projects specific to their business community’s needs.
In Stirling, the Go Forth team represents more than 600 business owners and the BID zone covers Stirling city centre and its surrounding streets taking in the area from Burghmuir Retail Park to the top of the town and out to Forthside.
Business owners with a rateable value over £10,000 pay an annual levy fee related to the size of their premises and the BID can access matched funding and grant schemes to support its projects and services.
Go Forth will now focus on its ambitious five-year plan which was drawn up following consultation with local businesses.
Key proposals for the second term include:
- better street cleaning
- ongoing free public Wi-Fi in the city centre
- the continuation of popular grant schemes.
There are also plans for new events including an enhanced winter festival and the introduction of annual business awards.
Other topics high on the agenda include tackling parking concerns, introducing improved wayfinding and signposting around the city and addressing the number of vacant properties.
The BID also aims to invest £1.8M in Stirling over the next five years.
Projections based on the amount of capital from levy payers plus the extra grant funding the BID expects to leverage indicate an expected income in excess of £1.8M.