No fooling – Lancaster BID turns ten on April 1st 2023 – and what an amazing ten years it has been!
To the public, BID is probably best known for the programme of events we deliver throughout the year to attract people into the city centre. Regular annual events include Easter activities, Dino Fest, Reindeer Day and the Christmas Lights Switch On as well as city centre trails and weekly entertainment throughout the summer. Lancaster BID also organised the first years of Festa Italia before passing the baton to Totally Local Lancaster who continue to organise the event, partially funded by BID. Lancaster BID also supports other key events in the city including Lancaster Music Festival, Chinese New Year and Light Up Lancaster.
Dino Fest is one of our largest events which grew from an initial single day event in 2017 into one of the biggest dinosaur events in the Northwest. This year will be the biggest yet with the city centre filled with dinosaurs over a full weekend along with new activities including a mobile museum, fossil stalls, dinosaur workshops and so much more. Over 500 local schoolchildren will visit the city centre in the two weeks leading up to the main event to learn about Lancaster’s links to dinosaurs through Sir Richard Owen. The event is always guaranteed to be a ROARing success!
However, it’s not just events which keep the BID team busy all year. We work hard behind the scenes to keep the city centre looking attractive, managing the annual Christmas lights, hanging bunting and street decorations throughout the summer and installing and maintaining the city centre planters.
The team also support businesses and the public to help tackle antisocial behaviour in the city centre. The BID Warden provides a visible presence to help and reassure the public whilst also providing a response to businesses to tackle issues such as shoplifting. BID works closely with partners including the Police to identify key priorities for action.
Of course, nothing Lancaster BID does would be possible without the support of all the amazing city centre businesses. Support for Lancaster BID has increased in each of the three BID Ballots we have held, proving how much we are valued by the business community. We’d like to say a huge thank you for all the support over the past ten years and look forward to continuing to benefit Lancaster city centre for the next 10 years and beyond.
