Carlisle’s new Business Improvement District (BID) has appointed a highly experienced manager to shape its first year of delivery.
Chandra Pollock has more than 25 years’ experience in place management, business improvement, stakeholder engagement and BIDs.
She recently played a key role in establishing Let’s Go Glasgow BID and now brings that experience to the Great Border City BID in Carlisle, helping shape its first-year priorities and delivery.
Her appointment marks the next stage in the BID’s development, with a focus on engaging businesses, building partnerships and establishing priorities for the organisation’s first year.
Chandra said: “Successful BIDs are built around listening to businesses and bringing people together behind shared priorities.
“My first priority is to understand what matters most to Carlisle businesses and help turn those priorities into practical action.”
She added: “My remit is to engage with businesses and stakeholders to draw up a year-one development plan. I want to speak to businesses directly and understand their priorities.
“I’ll also be working with Cumberland Council, and organisations such as Cumbria Tourism, making sure businesses are well placed to benefit from opportunities such as next year’s Tour de France.”
The Great Border City BID is hosting a series of pop-up events to better understand businesses’ needs, with the first held in the city centre in July.
Businesses are encouraged to come along to the upcoming pop-up sessions in Kingstown (3 August) and Rosehill (17 August) to share their views and help shape the BID’s priorities for its first year.
Chandra believes that Carlisle has a lot going for it and has great potential.
She said: “I’ve been really impressed by the city centre. It’s clean and welcoming and there has clearly been investment in the public realm.
“I think this is a moment in time for Carlisle. There’s a real opportunity with all the investment going into the city centre around the university.
“Town and city centres are evolving, and that creates opportunities to think differently about how we use our spaces.”
The first UK BID was established in 2000. There are now more than 350.
The Great Border City BID, which is funded by a levy on business rates and has a fixed life of five years, was set up after Carlisle’s businesses backed the idea in a postal ballot last autumn.
Its aim is to boost prosperity and economic growth by transforming the city into a dynamic, inclusive and future-ready destination. The BID is overseen by a board of directors drawn from local businesses and other stakeholders.
The BID directors are: Kevin Beaty, a farmer and former leader of the old Eden District Council; Susanne Parry of the Cumberland Building Society; Sean Saunders from Bendalls Engineering; Tom Little of Carlisle United; Lesley Robinson from Cumbria Chamber of Commerce; Tracey Slaven from the University of Cumbria; Chris Day of Black Box Architects; and Max Connon and Joe Harrison of West Walls Brewery.
For more information on the Great Border City BID, and to contact the BID team, visit: https://greatborder.city/a-bid-for-carlisle/
