Year 10 business plan
2026/2027 brings new challenges and new opportunities for businesses. We look froward to continue working with you to deliver key services and projects that help enhance the BID area for all those that visit, live, work and study here. Below is a list of our top priorities for each theme group that we will work to achieve.
You can download a copy of our Year 10 business plan here.
A note from our Executive Director Stephen Manion
Businesses are facing tough times, with pressures from business rates, rising employment costs and high utility bills – which haven’t gone away.
We will be focusing our resources on identifying the needs of each sector and delivering relevant projects or supporting actions that will attract footfall, create a safer and welcoming city and encourage economic growth. These will be our aims over the next year and beyond.
Feeling safe from retail crime and anti-social behaviour in the city centre will still be our primary objective, from our highly visible security team on patrol to use of technology and strengthened partnerships with the enforcement authorities.
A BID can move swiftly and respond to the calls and needs of our businesses. The hospitality and night-time economy industries have been battered by rising costs, dwindling income and changes in consumer attitudes towards drinking with venues closing at a worrying rate. Business working groups are being established to devise and deliver action plans which will include lobbying local and central government, helping businesses to grow and marketing the citywide offer.
The visitor experience is vital for economic activity. Whether a local resident or an international tourist, a place which is visually attractive and welcoming will be a place to which they want to go. As part of this enhanced experience, GO! will extend its installation of decorative lighting during the year.
To encourage the ever-growing number of cruise passengers to stay and explore, we will be adding to our Welcome to the City projects with more visitor information points at key locations and developing walking trails with city partners. Times may be tough, but we will all be stronger working together.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at info@gosouthampton.co.uk.
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- Make the city centre a safer and cleaner place to work, visit and live
- Attract more cruise passengers into the city centre
- Move visitors around the BID area
- Support the evening and night-time economy
- Attract footfall into our retail and hospitality businesses
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- Our nationally accredited business crime
partnership (SBCP) and dedicated
on-the-ground security team will
support joint crime reduction initiatives
such as Operation Predict and the
Business Crime Navigator project - Build on our year-round lighting scheme
with street animation and activations to
encourage visitors and increase dwell time - Deliver our annual Big City Clean and
continue our regular cleansing service to
businesses which goes above and beyond
the statutory duties of the Council - Work with the Licensing Link collective to
keep the night-time economy a vibrant and
safe place as well as maintain the Red Card
Scheme and retain Purple Flag status - Continue work on connecting the city
through improved wayfinding and visitor
information within the public realm
- Our nationally accredited business crime
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- Develop the new Visit Southampton
website to meet the needs of all readers,
including improved travel and accessibility
information and bespoke pages - Explore ways to market the city to
cruise passengers and crew via the
Visit Southampton channels and
physical advertising in the city - Offer relevant marketing services and
advice to BID members, acting as a
critical friend where needed - Deliver key marketing campaigns
throughout the year including Love
the Old Town, Summer of Sport and
Christmas, to increase awareness,
dwell time and spend - Raise Southampton’s profile as an
exciting and vibrant visitor destination
via our work with Blakeborough PR
- Develop the new Visit Southampton
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- Offer the Events Sponsorship Scheme,
providing small and large organisations
the opportunity to secure events grants
of up to £6,000 - Work with third-party event organisers,
to capitalise on opportunities that come
with larger events being hosted in the city,
including promotion of BID members
to attendees - Host business events such as city
networking and trade/sector meetings
to strengthen connections - Deliver at least two city-centre trails
across the year, including the Snow
Windows, encouraging movement around
the BID area and increasing dwell time - Collaborate with city partners to
strengthen the local economy and wider
tourism offer to help businesses grow
- Offer the Events Sponsorship Scheme,
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- Champion city improvements to drive
economic growth, including delivery of
the Renaissance Vision and the Growth
& Prosperity Plan - Represent businesses with a strong,
coordinated voice, lobbying for better
support from Government and beyond - Provide additional footfall counters
targeted at cruise tourists, to inform
smarter business decisions alongside
existing spend data - Secure procurement savings on energy,
insurance and waste collections via our
Business Cost Reduction Service - Deliver employee training via SEEDL and
in-person sessions to help businesses save
money whilst enhancing workplace skills
- Champion city improvements to drive
