Place Magazine August - Revive & Thrive

1 WWW.REVIVEANDTHRIVE.CO.UK REVIVEANDTHRIVE @REVIVE_THRIVE

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PLACE FOR TOWNS AND CITIES The finest eloquence is that which gets things done

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Revive & Thrive Challenges

Deadline next week THIS MONTH Northwich BID helps business better themselves Revive & Thrive Town Solutions ChallengeThe People’s Vote Blogs from Mo Aswat, Steph James, Colin Munro & Ronnie Brown Revive & Thrive’s New Membership Structure

REVIVE & THRIVE’S 2

intrigue inspire illuminate

Enter our

£20,000 Christmas Light Competition p.14

INSIDE

PLACE FOR TOWNS AND CITIES

FROM THE EDITOR

August

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people passionate about place. We’ve increased the member benefits and changed the tiers so that we truly have a membership to suit all budgets and areas on interest. To find out more, read on or email [email protected] or call 03330 124285

p13. Northwich BID helps business better themselves

New sponsors invest in Revive & Thrive.

p20. Steph James’s New Blog

Welcome to the fifth edition of Revive & Thrive’s Place for Towns and Cities Magazine. My intro this month is really a call to action.

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Sun, Sea and Extra Shoppers!

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2016 Revive & Thrive Town & City Solutions Challenge

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2016 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places

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Mo Aswat’s Blog

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Northwich BID helps business better themselves

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Blachere Illumination £20,000 Christmas Lights Competition

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Ronnie Brown’s Blachere Blog

P18. Chester FC stars tackle city centre football skills challenge P20.

Steph James’s Blog

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UK Markets Index June

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Revive & Thrive Town Solutions Challenge- The People’s Vote

P31. 12 Reasons to join Revive & Thrive P32.

Revive & Thrive Annual Conference and Exhibition

P36. Blachere Digital Pathway for Places P38.

Colin Munro’s Blog

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Revive & Thrive’s New Membership Structure

P42. Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel P43. Revive & Thrive’s Corporate Advocates

The 16th of August sees the deadline for the Blachere £20,000 Christmas Light Competition and the £70,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places. A seven-day extended deadline available by request to Revive & Thrive Town Leadership Members. Both of these challenges are designed to very easily to complete, taking as little as an hour to complete, and most importantly useful leaving a legacy of understanding better how issues and solutions impact on regeneration and places. Read further on in the magazine to find out more and email your entries to [email protected] The Town Centre Solutions Challenge People’s Vote opens. In this edition of Place, you can see the first three of the online pitches in the Town Solutions Challenge. Please do take 5 minutes to vote on what you think of the presentations and their relevance to the Challenge that Revive & Thrive set to the businesses. Find out more in this edition of Place Magazine Now everyone can join Revive & Thrive In this edition we launch the new full range of memberships open to ALL

Very proud to say that we have had two new Corporate Advocates and sponsors join us since the last edition of Place Magazine. We are pleased to welcome miconex and their unique town/city wide gift card programme and PinPointer, rebranded from BoConcepts. PinPointer offer the people and place insights to build the brand of your place. We are very grateful for the growing support that businesses and places are offering Revive & Thrive and you can be sure that there will be more news about how Revive & Thrive is going from strength to strength in the next edition of Place Magazine. Early bird discount for the Revive & Thrive Conference ends 16th August. So please be sure to book for place for the 2 half day event in Colchester on 29th/30th September. You can book here. Mark Barnes, Founder and Managing Director, Revive & Thrive Ltd 03330 124285 [email protected]

PLACE MAGAZINE Editor in Chief Mark Barnes Assistant Editor Matthew Powell Creative & Design Stephen Blackwell WWW.REVIVEANDTHRIVE.CO.UK

REVIVEANDTHRIVE @REVIVE_THRIVE Tel: 03330 124285

© 2016 Revive & Thrive

How have you taken an historic town/city and rebranded it for the 21st Century? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 4

Sun, Sea And Extra Shoppers! brands, place managers and creative agencies to deliver new opportunities to the high street.

LET’S shout about our town centre events and bring all those extra summer holiday ‘staycationers’ onto our high streets. That’s the message to town centre managers from PinPointer this month. With record numbers of people choosing a ‘staycation’ and holidaying at home PinPointer managing director Alison Bowcott-McGrath says there’s a real opportunity for town centres to take advantage.

PinPointer managing director Alison Bowcott-McGrath said: “Let us know what’s going on in your town and we can do the rest . We have clients who want to bring product launches and top brands to these destinations, both indoors and outdoors. With millions of extra people holidaying at home this is the ideal time for us to work with our towns and cities to make the most of the increased footfall.”

The latest figures from Visit England show 7.3 million people holidaying in the UK in the first quarter of this year – a 10% increase on the same time in 2015.

PinPointer’s current campaigns they are involved in include McDonald’s McFlurry, Chewits (Icecream flavoured), Coca -Cola, all looking for locations this Summer.

PinPointer is one of the UK’s leading place consultancies, bringing together

The company, formed in 2004, is already working with two of the UK’s favourite

holiday destinations, Blackpool and Eastbourne. It’s a relationship that’s paying off, according to Luke Johnson, from Eastbourne’s town centre management. “Since going into partnership with PinPointer we have been able to increase our revenue generated through our town centre promotional space and we have also been able to hold some fantastic promotions which have created a real buzz around the town centre.” If you’d like help promoting your town this month get in contact with ali@ pinpointer.uk or call her on 0161 8501400 – we would love to hear from you. www.pinpointer.uk

PLACE FOR TOWNS AND CITIES 5

Revive & Thrive is very pleased to welcome miconex as the latest business to become a Revive & Thrive Corporate Advocate miconex comes hot on the heels of The Mosaic Partnership who joined Blachere Illumination, PFM Footfall Intelligence and City Dressing as Revive & Thrive sponsors and advocates in May. Early activity will include discussion about their unique town and city wide gift card; the latest product from the miconex stable of solutions for UK’s places. Mark Barnes, Managing Director and Founder of Revive & Thrive said “We are very pleased that miconex has become a Corporate Advocate. We’ve been working with Colin and his team for a number of years and their professionalism and passion for excellent results is inspiring.” Adding “The gift card programme is a very different proposal to anything else that has gone to market in the UK and I urge all place professionals to take a good

look at it. Using a gift card platform and partners with a proven track record and results will be very reassuring to potential clients” Miconex Managing Director, Colin Munro said “It’s an exciting time for miconex. We are very confident that in the gift card we have a valuable extra tool for towns and cities to use to promote local assets, lock money into a local community and even generate revenue for the area.” Colin added “Revive & Thrive is the perfect partner for us as they possess a huge amount of place related knowledge and a really clear understanding of the sector.” The new town or city wide gift card programme offers customers and visitors significantly more choice than card for individual retailers. The miconex’ gift

card programme ensures that the money is retained locally. The gift card market represents £5bn of spend in the UK so the opportunity for the programme to bring positive economic change to an area is very real and tangible. Revive & Thrive Corporate Advocate’s sponsorship allows Revive & Thrive to offer Place Magazine for free and its Talking Towns and Annual Conference at very low cost. Their kind and generous support also enables ongoing shared best practice and creates inspirational challenges for UK’s Places. They also allow Revive & Thrive to keep membership prices very low. To find out more about the miconex gift card programme call 01738 444 376 or email [email protected] or visit their website www.mi-cnx.com


2016 Revive & Thrive Town & City Solutions Challenge This Challenge is for all innovators and suppliers of products and solutions to places across the UK. We define places in regard to this challenge as towns, cities, communities, shopping centres, retail parks and shopping centres.

Judges will be asked to score against the following categories with the highest score in each category being awarded “Best in Class 2016” and the entrant with the highest overall score being crowned as “Best Overall Solution Provider 2016”: [1]

Entry to the Challenge is now open and we are looking for businesses who can demonstrate how their product, services or solutions are the best ones to pull together various elements of town/city communities, to interpret heritage in a way that meets the needs of residents and visitors, young and old, and to support the infrastructure of a place to help it develop and grow in an ever more competitive 21st Century marketplace.

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The Challenge takes place across two days on 29th and 30th September 2016 at the Revive & Thrive Solutions Conference in Colchester.

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This unique event will bring together experts, practitioners, businesses and passionate residents from across the UK and, as well as offering you the opportunity to showcase your solution in the Challenge, the event will also include an exhibition of town and city solutions, a Challenge for Places, talks, panel debates and tours of the town and the final of the 2016 Blachere Illumination Christmas Lights Competition. Solutions needs to meet the needs of the Colchester community, but should also demonstrate how they are transferable to other UK towns and cities.

Best Solution for Visitors Best Solution for Supporting Businesses Best Solution for Community Engagement Best Digital Solution Best Solution for Celebrating Heritage Best Solution for Measuring Success Best solution for Providing a Sustainable Future (financial and environmental) Best Solution for Improving Infrastructure Best Solution for a Safer Place

Your entry should include a short (maximum 3-minute) video posted to Youtube[2] and will involve a further 5 minute pitch to an invited audience at the Revive & Thrive Solutions Conference. Entry into 2016 Challenge Business Group Members £275 Other Businesses £495 Exhibition & Workshop Business Group Members £275 Other Businesses £295 Total Business Group Members £425 Other Businesses £790

* Facility to hold a workshop is only open to Revive & Thrive Business Group Members. * Annual Business Group Membership to Revive & Thrive starts from £425. Any business wishing to join the Revive & Thrive Business Group can do so for just £35 in addition to challenge and exhibition costs and would then benefit from full Revive & Thrive Membership for 12 months as well as the opportunity to deliver a workshop at the 2016 Challenge Event. * All prices shown are exclusive of VAT. * Costs include 1x delegate entry to the event and 1x evening meal. * The marketing value of entry to the Challenge will be enhanced depending upon date of entry. The sooner your entry is confirmed and video uploaded, the more time will be available to promote this. [1] Categories may be amended until public voting starts on 1st August 2016 [2] The Youtube video will form the basis of a “public vote” category, to be run from 1st31st August 2016. Additionally, Revive & Thrive will use your video across its various media channels, including website, Twitter accounts and Place Magazine to both promote the 2016 Challenge Event and your own business. Winners of the public vote will be announced at the event

Check out our presentation on this year’s challenges

To express an interest, to book your place or receive updates and terms and conditions, please email [email protected] or call 03330 124285


Deadline next week Aug 16th

Send your entry now, it only takes an hour!

2016 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places Entry for the 2016 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places is now open and we are offering you the chance to win a fantastic prize of over £70,000-worth of products and services for your town or city or a nominated place of your choice.

Challenge Categories: •

How have you taken an historic town/city and rebranded it for the 21st Century?

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How have you used marketing techniques or quantative analysis to draw visitors to areas of your place with lower footfall?

We acknowledge that everywhere is different – faces its own challenges and has solved many of its own riddles and that is why we have broadened the opportunities for you to get involved and share your successes with the rest of the country at the 2016 Revive & Thrive Solutions Conference, taking place in Colchester on 29th & 30th September.

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How have you used your place’s USP to deliver successful marketing campaigns and how did you measure the results?

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How is your place fighting back against out-of-town and online shopping?

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How have you incorporated street entertainment into the management of your place to provide an enhanced visitor experience?

To be in with a chance of winning this place-changing prize, simply tackle one or more of the challenges laid out below and tell us how you have solved the problem in your town or city. The best overall solution, as judged by an expert panel of town practitioners, will walk away with the prize.

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How have you improved linkages around your place between traffic terminals (public transport and car parks) and your town/ city centre?

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How have you reconciled the different needs and appeals of your daytime and evening economies?

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How have you ensured that your local community and voluntary groups’ needs are balanced with the needs of your town/city centre businesses?

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How have you brought small businesses into the management of your place to give them a real sense of ownership of it?

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How have you harnessed civic pride to create genuine customer loyalty to your place?

You can respond to any one of the following challenges by submitting your case study in up to 1,000 words (testimonials, statistics, etc. are optional and can be provided as an appendix). You may also include pictures, videos or links to web pages. Finalists will be expected to deliver a 10-minute presentation to an invited audience at the 2016 Revive & Thrive Solutions Conference.

Entries need to be returned to: [email protected] no later than 16th August 2016. A seven day extended deadline available by request to Revive & Thrive Town Leadership Members. Shortlisted Finalists will be announced on 22nd August 2016.


To express an interest, to book your place or receive updates and terms and conditions, please email [email protected] or call 03330 124285

How have you used marketing techniques or quantative analysis to draw visitors to areas of your place with lower footfall? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 8

AND THE PRIZES...

Revive & Thrive is grateful to all donors of prizes for Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places 2016. The current prize package has a value well in excess of £70,000 just for your community, town or city.

Town Centre Insight Data. Package of reports for your place which will include as examples reports on retail spend bubbles, dominant lifestyle groups and retail footprint graphs.

Free treasure trail for your Place in Global Treasure Apps plus 12 months marketing support material.

A Digital Toolkit getting ALL of your town or BID businesses online with all the tools needed in one package.

Win one of the largest Advent Calendars in the UK for your Place. This prize is from 2007 world record holder for World’ Largest Advent Calendar, City Dressing

Two half-day workshops to help the place make the most of its data. Noggin will help the place collect data more effectively and use it to support growth in the local area.

eCommerce offering includes full use of our Apps for mCommerce and Click’n’Collect, Notifications, and Location Alerts and GPS navigation.

1 x free of charge single count, fully managed, footfall system for 12 months with the option to continue the service element after 12 months, on a paid basis (optional)

Feasibility study to assess your place’s potential for introducing a Business Improvement District.

Win a wayfinding review for your place. With an optional £1000 voucher towards a full Wayfinding Audit & Strategy.

A set of Distance Learning Manuals. One half day workshop on how to run a Pop-Up.

Show how to run a Customer Service Awards programme. Carry out Mystery Shops on the top ten shortlisted business message which can be used as a key part of the final judging. Each will get a dedicated review of how their business has performed giving management an invaluable tool. Place Magazine special promoting every element of your place nationwide. Show off about all that is great about your community, town, city or destination.

A full days visual display training for your retailers

Blachere are separately offering prizes worth £20,000 in the Blachere Christmas Light Competition but also wish to offer a year’s subscription to the Blachere Digital Pathway.


August catch up co.uk for more information on these

Aswat BLOG Mo Mosaic

The BREXIT vote seems a little away now. Since then we have had a new Prime Minister in place and a new look cabinet, as well as leadership elections elsewhere. The UK is preparing itself for the future, trying to stabilise the economy and negotiating its place in Europe in a very different context. We are feeling the impact, with a slowdown in business investment, particularly in the property fund market, driven by economic and political uncertainty, and a weak pound. UK growth in consumer spending will also likely to be hit in the short term, so now more than ever we need to work much harder to support our businesses, and our communities. Interesting times – and It’s been somewhat reflective in Mosaic HQ as well, after a busy start to the year, looking back at our achievements and planning for our work going forward. In doing so we are constantly reminded of how lucky we are to work with such great partnerships and people, many of which, deliver inspiration, leadership and great projects for their places. I am therefore delighted to report further successes, and congratulate another two of locations on successful ballots, Collectively Camberley on their first renewal continuing to choose to invest a further £1.5 million, and Hampstead Village on their new BID resulting in a £1.2 million investment It’s been great to work with both teams, and I look forward to seeing their projects come to fruition. Please go to our website www.themosaicpartnership.

I reported last month on Cardiff’s successful BID Ballot, Mosaic’s 79th in the UK. Mosaic has been incredibly proud to work with the capital city of Wales, a successful, vibrant and cosmopolitan place. Whilst it’s wonderful to take a BID to successful ballot, it’s also a great opportunity to work on getting that BID off the ground following the YES vote. There is such a strong focus from the Task Group on getting the BID to a successful ballot, but when it goes through it is really important to establish a firm foundation for the BID to move into delivering an effective and tangible set of projects. With all the set up demands such as electing a Board and forming a new company, financial considerations and managing expectations from businesses, it can feel overwhelming, particularly if there is also new staffing to contend with. Many locations nowadays value continuity and experience in this early stage. Cardiff has a committed and dynamic BID Board, and a supportive Council, with an ambitious business plan and a £7.5 million budget. To ensure that things move into the delivery phase with urgency and confidence they have appointed The Mosaic Partnership to manage the set up and delivery programme for the BID. The Board expressed an interest in the provision of a management service very early on as they recognised the value in our expertise and experience not only in taking the BID to ballot, but also setting up an organisation that will effectively deliver their plan and instill confidence in their levy payers and businesses during the embryonic stage of the BID. Cardiff is one of many BIDs we provide Interim Management for, and its great to see many locations now looking to invest in such an important and valuable provision, at such a crucial stage. Forward thinking and proactive planning really pays off especially during a BIDs first year. Our international work has also ramped up significantly, we are currently preparing for several study tours with overseas delegates, and I have spent

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the last few weeks in Singapore advising and working with the Singapore River One team, an ongoing public private partnership model developed over the last few years. Singapore are now moving forward with their plans to develop their first BID, and The Mosaic Partnership have also just been appointed to develop the Business Plan. Its an exciting development, and will be pivotal to the future of Singapore’s funding to support the business community and a thriving economy and business district. Our work in Northern Ireland also continues to evolve, with several Feasibility studies taking place, and a number of key events planned to work with stakeholders there on collaborative projects, I look forward to updating on that in October. I’m also delighted to be joining the judging panel for the UK Town Centre Solutions Challenge, a national competition hosted by the Revive & Thrive Place Management team to look at the most effective solutions to support town centres and locations. I’ve been working with the Revive & Thrive team now for several months and I’m always impressed by their dedication and commitment to promoting such a positive message, striving to continually bring partnerships together and work collaboratively to support our UK towns and cities. I look forward to working with them, reviewing the submissions and awarding the winning entry. As a sponsor for the event, I do feel strongly about supporting initiatives which promote a cohesive approach to finding real solutions that can evolve our places and communities, and allow them to grow. It’s an exciting time, and a busy one – but with just enough time to squeeze in some much needed R&R and quality time with the family. Look forward to sharing more about our projects in September, and our plans for 2017. Have a great summer! Mo Aswat, Managing Director, The Mosaic Partnership, [email protected] 0845 250 8099


We want your experience and passion as a Revive & Thrive Judge Judging is always fair and unbiased and to ensure fair play and the right results Martin Blackwell, former Association of Town & City Management (ATCM) CEO and Place Management expert, is leading this year’s judging.

Revive & Thrive is running three exciting challenges over the summer with total prize packages valued in excess of £90,000. These are – • • •

Revive & Thrive’s £70,000 Challenge for Places Blachere Illumination £20,000 Christmas Light Competition Town Centre Solutions Challenge

These Challenges are as useful as an exercise as they are valuable to the winners. Revive & Thrive always ensures high quality judging ensuring feedback from various disciplines using leaders and experts in communities across the UK.

We are now recruiting for Revive & Thrive’s 2016 judging panel and we would for you to consider the opportunity. There are different elements this year for Judges with our preference being that you can enjoy the entire experience. The elements include – •

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Remote judging. Reading and marking a sample of applications emailed to you. You can expect about 10 applications and more if you have the time. This will start from 16th August 2016 and will need to be completed by 30th August. Judging Finalists at Colchester. Enjoy the two half day Revive & Thrive Town Solutions Conference and judge a sample of the finalist’s presentations Our preference – both of the above. Or you could just come to one of the two half days in Colchester and judge a sample.

All you need to be a judge – •

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•

•

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A real passion for places and a desire to learn new ideas and innovations from towns, cities and destinations around the UK. Knowledge and experience in place management, retail or associated disciplines to ensure the right results. And/or – skills in community engagement, running local events, markets and other community activism And/or – knowledge and skills in digital technology and other areas that can be used to ensure sustainable places for the future. To be able to set aside up to a couple of hours late August And/or attend one or both days at the Revive & Thrive Towns Solutions Conference in Colchester 29th and 30th September.

We would love you to come and be our guest at Colchester where we will ensure that you have a very enjoyable and worthwhile two days. To ask for your buy in and commitment and to ensure that other people don’t miss the opportunity to come along, we would If you fancy learning great ideas and innovations


As a start-up community focused organisation there was one overriding ethos about Inspire Colchester, and that was to promote Colchester So on a recent Sunday morning with the assistance of ‘Colchester Soup’ and ‘Interesting in Colchester’ we set ourselves up in the crown jewel of Colchester, Castle park. Our objective was to firstly cover for the closed Visitor Information Centre, and secondly survey residents and tourists on their thoughts about Colchester. Our first question was very aspirational; What do you think is the best thing about Colchester? There could be some confirmation bias due to our location, however, the clear winner with a 46.15% of residents/ tourists stating that Castle Park was the best thing about Colchester followed by Colchester’s Norman Castle at 11.54%. It does make the phrase of ‘Green Spaces, make places’ very relevant. The second question, we tried to make very qualitative as it was important to see where people would actively recommend, and we split into three parts;

Where would you recommend to eat / shop / visit? Bill’s on the High Street came out on top for places to eat, however, an outlier of a Harper’s Café scored very highly. This in part due to the excellent service and compassion the owner showed towards his elderly and customers with disabilities. William’s and Griffin was voted the best place to shop, the mid-high end department store is very dominant in Colchester, but was closely followed by the ‘Lanes’ a local description for the cobbled shopping areas of Sir Issac’s Walk and Trinity Street. The latter is so picturesque that Cadbury’s selected for location for a new commercial. When it came to where people would recommend to visit, it was no surprise that Colchester Castle, Castle Park and the Zoo came up in that order. The final question we asked was the traditional Net Promoter Score (NPS) question;

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On a scale of 0-10, with zero being the most negative, how likely are you to recommend Colchester to friends, family and colleagues? The results come up as 32% which is a great benchmark for further survey’s. A world class score is 50%. The majority of votes were in the passive section; this is the tipping point so a few changes can move you from good to great. We do plan more survey’s, the next will be aspirational to find out what the people think the Town needs to be a destination of choice for inbound tourism, Was there any negatives, yes, people have strong views about their town. The one point which stood out was cleanliness of the High Street on a Sunday morning. This feedback has gone to the local councilors who have assured us that our comments and resident comments will be taken on board.



Northwich BID helps businesses better themselves

The Northwich Business Improvement District is always looking at ways in which it can help the town’s companies, traders and organisations grow and succeed. As part of this commitment, the BID held a Window Display Masterclass Training Course at its offices in Northwich on Tuesday 5th July.

Funded and organised by the BID, the course, run by Made You Look!, taught attendees how to make stunning visual window displays to help them market their offerings in the best way possible and increase interest and footfall in their store. The event was fully booked with delegates attending from various businesses in the town and all those who were present found the course extremely beneficial. Running in two sessions split over the morning and afternoon, delegates were initially shown the basic points and principles of display including fundamental rules, guidelines, focal points, signage, tools of the trade and much more. Following this, the delegates used props

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provided by the Made You Look! team before putting everything that they had learned during the day in to practice.

attended – they felt it was professional, engaging and will really help them going forward.

Attendees put together a display with several items of stock that they had brought from their own businesses and they were all very impressive.

“Also, as a result of the positive outcomes from the training session, we have more planned with the Made You Look! team for activities later in the year including inshop consultations which will be great. I can’t wait to see our amazing businesses achieve even more success in the future, implementing their new knowledge and design ideas.”

What’s more, due to the positive reaction from businesses, the BID has booked Helen Goodwin from the Made You Look! Team to do in-shop consultations for up to 15 businesses over three days in October, fully funded by the BID. During the consultations, Helen will also advise the town’s businesses on their Christmas window displays in a bid to help Northwich’s shops entice customers during one of the busiest times in the retail calendar. Northwich BID Manager Jane Hough was delighted with how the course went and is pleased to be able to help support initiatives which give the town’s businesses the platform to continue to succeed. “Following the course we had excellent feedback from all of the businesses who

Louise Hough, from independent knitting shop Crafty Stitches, was full of praise for the masterclass and can’t wait to put some of the skills she has learned into practice. “The day was very informal and Helen gave us little tasks throughout the day, based on what we were learning. The hands on approach worked well and we all encouraged each other with our business concerns. “Going forward, I’m already trying to implement the ideas from the course and make my windows stand out more. Overall I loved the day and just hope I can pull off what I’ve learned.”

How have you used your place’s USP to deliver successful marketing campaigns and how did you measure the results? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 14

£20,000 worth of Christmas Lights up for grabs in the Blachere Illumination Light Competition 2016

For 2016 Blachere Illumination are going one step further as they offer prizes for up to 10 finalists. These are: • Eight prizes of £1000 of Christmas Lighting • One second prize of £2000 of Christmas Lighting • First prize of £10,000 of Christmas Lighting Applicants in 2015 are encouraged to enter once again. Prizes are Motif product (Pole mount and transverse frames) only. Installation, infrastructure and storage costs are not included. What is the competition designed to achieve? Like in 2015 applicants are being urged to consider what their places and its retailers get from adding some sparkle to the peak shopping period. But, Blachere are going one step further this year by asking applicants to consider what other creative solutions could be used to bring residents, shoppers and visitors into the heart of their places to celebrate at other times of the year.

Close for applications

Deadline next week Aug 16th

Send your entry now, it only takes an hour!

You can see the feedback and photos from the winning finalists overleaf. The Questions To be in with a chance of winning one of the prizes above, all of which are being awarded for perpetuity to the ten winners by Blachere Illumination, simply answer the following questions. NB – this competition is only 1800 words long and should be able to be completed in one hour. Supporting documents are optional. The questions should be answered considering your own experiences or by envisaging the answers if you were to win the Competition or if you were able to create the ‘dream’ event for your place with any budget that you need. Feel free to be creative but the answers must be physically if not economically feasible. Q1 Is your Christmas Lights Switch On Event the most important date in your place’s calendar? If so, why is the event still so important? If not, what event is your most important event and what creative solutions do you use to enhance the resident or visitor experience. (max 600 words) 35% score

Q2 Christmas Lights create an enjoyable experience for visitors and shoppers lasting sometimes, for more than six weeks. Describe another event real, planned or imagined that uses or could use lighting or other creative solutions to create an extended experience for visitors to your place. (max 600 words) 35% score Q3 Three part question: • How do you ensure a return on investment for offering experiences similar to Christmas Lighting and Light Switch On Events? • To enable these experiences to take place, is it essential for you that the return is financial and/or experiential? • How do you measure the return? (max 600 words) 30% Score Email: [email protected] to register interest, for updates and to receive the terms and conditions. Or call 03330 124285 with any other inquiries.

16th August 2016

Seven extended deadline available by request for Revive & Thrive Town Leadership Members.

Finalists announced

by 30th August 2016

Finalists Presentations and prize award

29th and 30th September



Brown BLOG Ronnie Blachere

So, it seems that I can’t use emoji’s in Place Magazine. It’s shame because if I were on Facebook I would be using the ‘feeling accomplished’ one. There is nothing more important when lighting places than the highest quality service. When an event calls for exciting lighting displays or at Christmas Light switch on events, everyone needs to know that everything will work perfectly at that crucial moment. This is why, above all else, we focus on the customer’s needs and only offer high quality service and products. We already offered that, so why am I feeling accomplished? One of the reasons is because we now have a full complement of project managers covering the entire UK. This means that wherever you want lighting we can look after you and we have the back-up resource to ensure that everything will run smoothly for you.

This army of project managers are headed up by Head of Business Development, Chris Manka and supported by City Dressing’s, Jeremy Rucker. Jeremy will be very familiar to many of you place practitioners which leads me onto the next reason for feeling accomplished. People, understandably, associate Blachere with Christmas but we really are a year-round company. Those who came to the Blachere Talking Towns Experience will know that we really focus on offering residents, customers and visitors great experiences. To support this, we have recently welcomed City Dressing into the Blachere Group of Companies. Jeremy will be focussing on some of City Dressing’s finest products and services. Through Blachere, City Dressing will be creating great customer experiences, interactive media and the very successful and valuable information towers. The latter offers an excellent tool for sharing information about a

place and encouraging people to dwell and explore a place further. Last, but definitely not least, I am very pleased to have finishing the incorporation of themed environments into our suite of services and products. These themes include grottos, theming for theme parks and rides and also for attractions. Our theming transforms ordinary into the extraordinary. I am confident that we offer the best support and suite of services in the country and can promise you a great experience when interacting with Blachere. So that’s why I want emoji’s in future editions of Place Magazine and I will see what can be done before my next column. It would certainly shorten the word count in my column! ;) Have a great month Ronnie Brown, Managing Director [email protected] 01386 701513

How is your place fighting back against out-of-town and online shopping? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 3

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Blachere Illumination here in the UK and around the world We have been involved in some great projects over the years. I have listed a few below: Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow : We created a ceiling of light in the Square. This was very popular even the Police liked it. We received and email from them asking it could be left up all year round as it had reduced crime in the area. 1 Champs Elysees, Paris: Another Iconic location. 2 Eiffel Tower, Paris: The flashing effect was introduce for the millennium celebrations. They liked it so much the made it a permanent feature. 3 Westfield Stratford City, London: We beat off fierce competition to win this contract in 2011 and retained it to date. 4 Cinderella Castle, Walt Disney World, Florida: Having already provided the lighting for the Castle in Disneyland Paris, WDW Florida had a dream. And that was that their Castle would be better. Months of preparation and collaboration with the Disney Imagineers enabled that dream to come true. We even made the lights disappear during the day. How did we do that? Well, pixie dust of course. 5,6

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Gulliver, Kiev: This project was 20 months in the making. The original concept we put forward in April 2012. There were several changes to the original plan and timings. We were on target to complete by the end of 2012. In October 2012 the client postponed the project to January 2013. We did a trial on a smaller building to prove the concept. It worked and the product was shipped in June with installation to commence in July. From the end of August the install was complete and we were testing the software and ensuring the connections were correct. This was not easy as the building was not complete. However, we did it and the grand opening was at the end of November 2013. 7 The Gulliver project has number 1 status in the Company and was delivered by our colleague in Central Europe, Thierry Deffer. But here in the UK we are looking to London to take that number 1 status back. Watch this space! 1 6

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Monika & Roger Curry, Bodenhams bira members since 1949

Being a bira member gives us peace of mind that there’s free expert advice just a call away.

Benefits of bira retail membership: Free legal protection Competitive auto enrolment pension scheme Card processing savings

Competitive loans and deposits from bira bank Preferential business banking (30% cheaper than standard tarrifs*)

Preferential terms from our buying group Retail training (including 25% discount at Oxford Summer School)

Bespoke retail insurance Royalty free music deals Telecoms discounts Utilities discounts Mobile marketing

To find out more about joining bira please get in touch: Contact us 0800 028 0245

Follow us on social media

f British Independent Retail Association

[email protected]

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British Independent Retailers Association

bira are giving the winner of the ‘Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places 2016’ a package of City & Guilds accredited Distance Learning Courses! The courses include Selling Skills, Supervisory Skills, Buying & Merchandising. Get more information about the courses at www.bira.co.uk/retail-training * Non-member cost per annum £1,394, member cost £639. Saving assumes total turnover of £250,000 per annum based on a typical bira member profile.

Independent shop

Exclusive offer worth £840!


Chester FC stars tackle city centre football skills challenge Chester FC manager Jon McCarthy and two of the club’s first team players headed into Chester city centre on Thursday afternoon (29 July) to show off their skills at a special football event. Organised by CH1ChesterBID as part of this summer’s Head Out Not Home campaign, the free Soccer on the Square activity featured a giant 12ft x 8ft foot pool table, a power shot challenge and a shooting accuracy test. More than 2,000 people got involved in the event, delivered by Streetwise Soccer, throughout the day with both children and adults taking on the three challenges on a busy afternoon in the city centre. Chester FC’s teenage duo

Matty Waters and Kieran Evans – who both signed professional deals with the club earlier this year – added some professional flair to the proceedings as they took part in a fun head-tohead skills competition. Click here to see Kieran Evans curl one of his attempts right into the top corner: https://twitter.com/nobraineragency/ status/758675253115617280

“It was good fun getting out into the city centre and taking part in the football challenges,” said Chester FC Manager Jon McCarthy. “Activities like this are fantastic for getting families and young people out and about so we were more than happy to come and lend our support to the event and to CH1ChesterBID’s Head Out Not Home campaign. “Both Matty and Kieran are home-grown

academy players that have just broken into the first team squad so it’s great for them to get out into the community and meet some of the club’s supporters so early in their young careers.” Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, added: “We’re very grateful to Jon and the Chester FC players for coming down and supporting our Head Out Not Home campaign. The club has a loyal following in Chester and the surrounding areas and it’s wonderful to see them meeting fans of all ages right here in the city centre.” Soccer in the Square will be returning to Chester city centre on Thursday 18 August between 2pm and 8pm. For more information or for further details on other events, activities and late night shopping available in Chester every Thursday night this summer, visit www.experiencechester.co.uk


Steph James

BLOG Maidenhead Town Manager It’s been another busy month in Maidenhead with lots going on to keep the Enjoy Maidenhead team busy! We had another great example of the local community getting involved in events at Maidenhead Festival last weekend – we even had a visit from the Prime Minister!!! The strapline of the Festival is “Organised by the community for the community” which sums up the way a lot of events come about in our town. The event was organised by a group of local people who worked together to raise funds for a 2 day free festival

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for the town which included a stage showcasing live acts, an acoustic circus tent, fairground, stalls, activities and a beach complete with deckchairs for families to chill out in the sunshine. The 2-days saw over 6,000 come through our town centre park and a great atmosphere with the local community coming out to enjoy their town. As town manager I have gone from being the chairman of the event for quite a few years to being able to hand over the event to the community to run themselves – I am still there for support and as a pair of hands during the event but it is no longer ‘my’ event which creates sustainability for the future and allows me to develop other events for the town calendar. It has been this approach that has enabled Maidenhead to grow its event calendar and engage more people in the town.

Next up for us in Maidenhead is Maidenhead at the Movies our free outdoor cinema, Shabbytique & Eat on the High Street Sunday market and our second Night Market of the summer making sure we are kept busy!! And while everyone else is still in summer holiday mode our focus has moved onto the Christmas programme which every town manager knows is a vital trading time for businesses in the town – the coming weeks will be taken over with finalising events, getting print sorted and working with businesses to get them involved in the programme. This month I also took a trip over to Banbury to visit the Town Team there and see first hand what they gave been doing to tackle the issue of empty shops – it’s always great to meet up with other people to have a cuppa and see what you can learn from each other – great cake too!! For all the latest info on events in the town centre visit: www.enjoymaidenhead.com Follow on Twitter @EnjoyMaidenhead Like us on Facebook EnjoyMaidenhead


Northwich to benefit from high street regeneration programme

Northwich’s high street is set to be revitalised further after it was announced as one of the 100 towns across the UK to receive support from some of the country’s biggest brands. Business in the Community’s Healthy High Streets programme (HHSP) aims to increase footfall by 10%, reduce the number of vacant properties by 20% and also stimulate the creation of new jobs. The regeneration programmes comes on the back of numerous positive developments in Northwich which are helping transform the town into the destination of choice in Mid Cheshire. Flood defences have been improved, the multi-million pound Barons Quay development edges ever closer to completion and public realm projects, many courtesy of the Northwich Business Improvement District, are helping to paint the town in an even more positive light. The HHSP was first launched in June 2014 and is backed by some of the UK’s biggest high street brands - Boots UK, EE, Exterion Media, Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Santander and new partner Wilko. Northwich is one of 33 new High Streets selected for the programme across the UK, bringing the total number of participating High Streets to the programme target of 100 towns. The programme, which will be delivered

by the town’s BID Team, will help benefit the town in many ways. Not only will Northwich receive a bespoke package of support including access to skills and expertise, dedicated High Street Champions from supporting businesses will also be selected. These will work together with the local partnership team, local authority and relevant local partners to devise an action plan to address the specific challenges facing the town. Commenting on the programme’s expansion, Robin Foale, Managing Director, Santander Universities UK, and chair of the Healthy High Streets programme said: “Congratulations to Northwich on being chosen to be part of the Healthy High Streets programme. “This is a great opportunity to work with the business partners and the local High Street Champions to transform the town and create a thriving, vibrant centre for the local community.”

completion too, you can’t help but feel excited about the future of the town. “Make sure you keep an eye on the Northwich BID Twitter account and Visit Northwich on Facebook for the latest news, updates and developments.” Business in the Community’s Peter Donohoe said: “One of the most powerful ways for business to make an impact in communities is by creating high streets that are vibrant places to live, work and do business. It has been heartening to see first-hand the practical difference that collaborative, business-led action can make on UK high streets over these past two years. While there is much to be proud of about our Healthy High Streets Programme we also know that there is more work to be done. We warmly welcome Wilko as programme partners and look forward to working with them to create lasting change.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled that Northwich has been accepted onto the initiative and the team here at the BID can’t wait to lead on its delivery on behalf of the town.

Business in the Community is a member of the Government’s Future High Streets Forum and supports the High Street Pledge. The pledge, which was launched on 7 July, is currently supported by over 40 of the UK’s leading businesses. They are committed to using the leadership expertise, skills and resources of their business to help UK high streets achieve their full potential.

“Healthy High Streets will really help galvanise and transform Northwich further over the coming year and when you look at the developments nearing

To find out more about Business in the Community’s high streets work visit, please visit the Official Website: www. bitc.org.uk/healthyhighstreets

Northwich BID Manager Jane Hough is delighted that the town has been accepted onto the programme.

R Join

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From residents and volunteers to councils and BIDs to providers of town and city solutions, joining us offers you a wealth of opportunities to improve the place you work in and are passionate about, to recoup your

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As the UK’s only membership organisation for everyone passionate about Place –

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investment and to learn from others as well as share your own stories of innovation and success. With membership prices starting from just £42/year, Revive & Thrive also offers an affordable route to becoming part of the UK’s most solution-focused network of communities, businesses and place activists.

Full membership benefits can be found on the Revive & Thrive website and include: • Free unlimited access to Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel • Discounted entry to all Revive & Thrive events • Access to cost saving opportunities on expenses from insurance and utilities to merchant fees and recycling • Exclusive discounts from Revive & Thrive Business Group members – save on Christmas lights, place dressing, digital solutions, data management solutions and more • Free editorial space in Place Magazine to showcase any aspect of your town or city that you want to tell the world about as well as 50% discounts on advertising to promote your forthcoming events • Promotion of your place through the magazine (5,000 subscribers) and via associated social media marketing (30,000+ reach) • Extended deadlines on all competitions and challenges including the 2016 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places and the Blachere Christmas Lights Competition • Take 12 months Town Leadership Members subscription before 5th September and get one ticket for the Town Solutions Conference for free

Joining us couldn’t be simpler – just fill in the form on our website and start taking advantage of these great member benefits today!

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JQBID Screens Olympics Opening Ceremony in Square

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To mark the launch of the Rio 2016 Olympics, the Jewellery Quarter BID will host a screening of the Opening Ceremony on the newest public realm development, the Golden Square, in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. This event will run from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th August. We will also be screening several films in the run up to the ceremony during the day of Friday including Chariots of Fire and Disney’s Cool Runnings. There will also be activities for children over the weekend run by the Children’s Play Care Network, making this event perfect for families and professionals alike. We are very excited for this event and have it on good authority that we will be one of very few places to do such a screening of the Olympics, in Birmingham. This event is completely free to attend. More information can be found here: http://www.jewelleryquarter.net/ whatson/olympicsjq and we encourage people to join the facebook event at www.facebook.com/jqdtbirmingham/

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How have you reconciled the different needs and appeals of your daytime and evening economies? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 26

Steph James appointed Revive & Thrive’s new Place Management Ambassador

Since Revive & Thrive’s first Ambassador, Rita Waters left place management to become Chief Executive at the National Youth Advocacy Service we’ve been on the lookout for an inspirational place professional to fill the void. At the recent Talking Towns Maidenhead event our search came to an end when Steph James, Maidenhead Town Manager, gave her unassuming presentation on her local activities and the work of the Town Partnership. Listening to Steph calmly presenting numerous local successes and most importantly discussing her solution focused approach, we knew that we had to invite her to take up the role. We are very pleased to announce that she accepted with the support of her partnership, Enjoy Maidenhead.

Mark Barnes, Revive & Thrive Managing Director and Founder said “The combination of Steph’s hands-on approach to place management and strategy along with a future vision portrayed everything that is needed in a practitioner and more.” Mark added “What really impressed was when Steph discussed funding projects, modestly saying ‘when we need funding we go and find it.’ It is this no barrier approach that makes Revive & Thrive very proud to welcome her as our new Ambassador.” Steph James said “I’m passionate about town centres and how local communities play their part in making them a success. Places up and down the country are having to adapt to survive and I’m keen to work with as many people as possible to help make sure our towns and cities

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become stronger in the future. I’m looking forward to working with the Revive and Thrive Team and inspiring others” In Steph’s new role with Revive & Thrive, we hope that together we can inspire towns and cities to deliver projects and offer support to ensure that UK places continue to thrive, prosper and grow. Steph has also offered her time to support UK places as a member of the Revive & Thrive Expert Panel. This is a free online support for all members of Revive & Thrive. Steph can be reached by email on [email protected] and you can find out more by emailing [email protected] or calling 03330 124285.


The Revive & Thrive Annual Conference, Exhibition and Challenge Finale Colchester 29th and 30th September One inspirational event held in amazing historic Colchester Two half days of great ideas and solutions Three Challenge Finals Numerous experienced speakers £90,000 worth of solutions and Christmas lights to win (Christmas lights courtesy of Blachere) An infinite number of opportunities and shared best practice for you to take away and deliver in your place or community

Over the next couple of weeks the final agenda will be released. To be one of the first to receive this and to extend the early bird discount beyond 16th August to the 23rd August email your interest in the event to [email protected] To exhibit or to find out more call 03330 124285 Sponsored by

In Partnership with

How have you ensured that your local community and voluntary groups’ needs are balanced with the needs of your town/city centre businesses? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 28

Revive & Thrive Town Solutions Challenge – The People’s Vote We need your help to see which place solution provider will win the People’s Vote. Revive & Thrive’s challenge to businesses, is to demonstrate how their product, services or solutions are the best ones to pull together those elements of Colchester’s community, to interpret the heritage of the town in a way that meets the needs of locals and visitors, young and old, and to support the infrastructure of this place to help it develop and grow in an ever more competitive 21st Century marketplace. Don’t worry if you don’t know Colchester well. Apply the questions to your town or city and score accordingly. We’ve asked the entrants to consider how their solution meets the needs of the Colchester community and also to demonstrate how it is transferable to other UK towns and cities. The Challenge Colchester is the UK’s oldest recorded

town, with heritage and architecture dating back to Roman times. From medieval shopfronts and castles, to a unique Victorian water tower, the town boasts over 2,000 years of history, setting it apart from many other places in the country. Today, the town benefits from both a stable resident community, a young and dynamic demographic, thanks to the university, and a strong visitor offer. With a forward-thinking council, a strong resident-led voluntary sector and an energetic new town team, Colchester is well-placed to take advantage of local, regional, national and international visitors. However, as with any town or city across the country, Colchester has both opportunities to improve and challenges to face and we want you to tell us who should win The People’s Vote in the Best Solution for Towns and Cities. Please vote below As a reminder the solution needs to meet the needs of the Colchester

This Challenge and Event is supported by Colchestersoup, Colchester Borough Council & Colchester Town Team

community, but should also demonstrate how it is transferable to other UK towns and cities. Vote Watch the videos overleaf and vote for your current favourite this week. New applicants will be added weekly and each time they are we will ask for your new winner or you may vote for the same solution again. Voting will close at midday on the 26th September and the winner will be announced at the Revive & Thrive Annual Conference 29th/30th September in Colchester and via social media. The result will be achieved by aggregating the weekly results into one final winner. If you want to be updated when new entries are posted online, email [email protected]

Best Overall Winner 2015 – City Dressing


1. Space-Qube

2. miconex

3. Streetcloud

Click here to vote now >

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How have you harnessed civic pride to create genuine customer loyalty to your place? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 30


Here are just 12 of the best reasons to Join Revive & Thrive today 31

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Come along to the stimulating and thought provoking Talking Towns Maidenhead on July 6th only £15.00 inc vat and booking fee

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Enjoy a not-to-be-missed tour of the new Blachere Theming Winter Wonderland Experience in Huddersfield on 23rd June as a part of our Talking Towns event there*

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Be branded as “best in class” solutions provider for towns and cities by entering the 2016 Revive & Thrive Solutions Challenge*

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Win products and services for your place worth around £70,000 in the 2016 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places by simply telling us how you’ve fixed a certain problem in your town/ city*

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Thanks to Blachere Illumination, win a share of £20,000 of Christmas lights for your town, city or high street*

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We have negotiated excellent entry rates and exhibition prices for any practitioner or business wanting to attend the inaugural World Town Leader’s Summit, taking place in Edinburgh on 15th & 16th June*

Participation in the Blachere Digital Pathway for Places, a new and unique benchmarking and development toolkit that will allow you to understand how your physical and digital places interact and how you can use them to enhance your visitor experience* Members can access exclusive discounts being offered by our Business Group, from free digital solutions and feasibility studies and town audits to discounts on websites, other tech and lighting schemes

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Take 12 months Town Leadership Members subscription before 5th September and get one ticket for the Town Solutions Conference for free

Be a part of our new magazine, Place. Anyone is welcome to submit stories, blogs and articles which we will happily include at no cost. Members can benefit from 50% reductions on advertising to further promote your place and the fantastic events you have going on to a nationwide audience*

Save money on insurance, utilities, communications and a range of other costs that will free up additional budget for project delivery

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With unlimited access to Revive & Thrive’s Panel of Experts you are never more than an email away from any answer to your place based conundrum.

Joining us couldn’t be simpler – just fill in the form on our website and start taking advantage of these great member benefits today!


EVENT

Annual Conference & Exhibiton

Revive & Thrive Annual Conference and Exhibition 29th and 30th September 2016

D R I B Y EARL

T N U O DISC 16th! ding n e r e f f o

Aug

Package includes: • Tours • Presentations • Talks • Workshops • Exhibiton • An Evening Drinks and Canapes Reception • Buffet and Refreshments • The Awards Ceremony

A fantastic conference. exhibition and suite of workshops and tours await all people passionate about place at the Revive & Thrive Town Solutions Conference in Colchester 29th/30th September. Delivered in partnership with Colchester Borough Council, ColchesterSoup and sponsored by Blachere Illumination, PFM Footfall Intelligence and The Mosaic Partnership, this event is also the final of the Blachere £20,000 Christmas Light Competition, the £70,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places and the Town Solutions Challenge. The full list of speakers and workshops will be announced over coming weeks with the current core agenda offers unrivalled content and regeneration experiences for you enjoy and learn from. The tickets offer numerous opportunities to network with other towns, cities and professionals and includes drinks and canapes in the evening of day one, buffet for day two and refreshments for both half days.

Recently added speakers offering presentations and workshops include – • • • • • • • • • • •

Bishop of Colchester, Roger Morris Place Management Specialist, Martin Blackwell Founder, Karen Taylor of ColchesterSoup Community Organiser, Jean Michel Knutsen of Citizens UK Economic Growth Development Manager, Karen Turnbull of Colchester Borough Council Maidenhead Town Manager, Steph James of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Architect, Ben Downie of Inkpen Downie Architecture Place Experience Expert, Jeremy Rucker of City Dressing BID Expert, Mo Aswat of The Mosaic Partnership Data Expert, David Sturdy of PFM Intelligence Place Illuminations Expert, Ronnie Brown of Blachere Illumination

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.935 9 4 £ 6 .95 SoT bers £ m Jr U e -M n for N o

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or for Non-Members £35.9

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Take 12 months Town Leadership Members subscription before 5th August and get one ticket for the Conference and Exhibition for free!


Draft Agenda Day 1 Welcome to Colchester Tours

Presentations

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Walking Heritage Tour by Colchester High Steward and former MP Sir Bob Russell Churches Monasteries and Chapels Love Life & Loss in Colchester in the Great War Colchester Under Siege (English Civil War)

Revive & Thrive Towns Challenge

Finialist presentations throughout the afternoon

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Alistair Heron - Both sides of the coin - the industrial and the retail centre and the bond between them Benefits of collaborating and learning best practice - bira Colchestersoup - bringing communities together

Workshops •

Workshop - How to use data to improve your place Creating memorable experiences in your Place 2 more tbc

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Blachere Christmas Exhibition of Town Lights Competition and City Solutions Finialist presentations throughout the afternoon

Exhibiting throughout the afternoon

Evening Reception at Mercury Theatre

Day 2 Improving Colchester by Colchester Tours

Presentations

Workshops

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Walking Tour - From Camulodunum to Colchester Walking Tour - Georgian Colchester Mercury Theatre - behind the scenes in the theatre Dorian Kelly - local actor, playwright, author - around town with a twist Walking Tour - Roman Colchester

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Community benefits to a town How to Create an Experience to Engage with your Community Creating memorable experiences in your Place Harnessing the Tourist Potential of our Towns Christmas Lights are free Measuring the Customer Journey home to high street and back again

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The Importance of Well Presented Shop Windows Finding Your Way around a Place Destination & Discovery - How Wayfinding will improve every visitors experience to your town 4 more tbc

Revive & Thrive Blachere Christmas Exhibition of Town Solutions Challenge Lights Competition and City Solutions Finialist presentations throughout the day

Awards Ceremony

Finialist presentations throughout the day

Exhibiting throughout the day

Book Now >>


The Mosaic Partnership celebrate 80th successful BID Ballot in the UK with ‘Collectively Camberley’ voting YES to their first renewal of the BID All BID initiatives are funded by the businesses from within Camberley as well as voluntary contributions from key partners. Camberley Town Centre can expect to benefit from nearly £1.5 million of private sector investment after local businesses voted in favour of continuing to fund Collectively Camberley, the Business Improvement District (BID), for a further 5 year term. Ballot results released by independent scrutineer, Electoral Reform Services, reveal that 85% of all those who voted were in favour of the BID continuing. For the renewal to be successful, a majority by rateable value was also required. This was achieved with 87% of the total value of those who voted. Collectively Camberley BID are behind popular events such as The Camberley Car Show, The Christmas Light Switch On and Camberley’s Rooftop Film Festival. Alongside the annual events programme, the group are also responsible for the floral displays and Christmas lights and the popular Little Book of Offers. They work with businesses in the town centre to support their marketing and promote them via the Love Camberley brand. The BID also deliver free workshops to the businesses within the BID, providing customer service training, digital skills improvements and mystery shopping.

Commenting on the ballot result, Lucy Boazman, BID Manager for Collectively Camberley said; “This is a very exciting day for businesses in Camberley Town Centre and I would like to thank them for their continued support. With the continuation of the BID, we will be able to keep delivering a whole range of enhancements to Camberley, progress new projects and keep delivering our annual events like The Camberley Car Show and The Christmas Light Switch On. The BID renewal is a great opportunity to build on what has been achieved in the previous 5 years. With Camberley’s strengths and characteristics, the town centre has a huge potential. These strengths provide the BID, our businesses and organisations with the opportunity to create and manage an environment that is good for business, for our customers, visitors, employees and for local residents.” The activities and projects delivered by BID are financed through a BID levy that is 1.5% of each businesses rateable value; resulting in around £260,000 annual investment for Camberley. Further funding of around £40,000 per annum is generated by the BID through voluntary contributions from key

partners, sponsorship and ticket sales from events. The proceeds of which are put back into the town and on the additional projects that the businesses have identified and as set out in the BIDs business plan. It is anticipated that over the five years’ term, nearly £ 1.5 million will be generated. Chairman for Collectively Camberley, Lorna Dane said; “I believe today’s ballot result demonstrates that businesses in Camberley have seen the real difference that the BID can make to the area and don’t want to give these benefits up. We have a large task ahead and high expectations to deliver on, but I believe we, along with our working partners in the town, will make a real impact over the next 5 years.” After several months of consultation with the town’s businesses, the BID produced a business plan that outlines their aims for 2016 – 2021. This includes a continuation of the town events and marketing initiatives as well as a focus on increasing external funding. The group also aim to enhance the look and feel of the town with street art and improvements to signage around the town. Ms Boazman continued “We are excited about the next 5 years for Camberley and look forward to working with the BID businesses and our key partners to take Camberley Town Centre to the next level.”


81st successful ballot for The Mosaic Partnership with Hampstead businesses voting ‘YES’ to a Business Improvement District (BID)

Hampstead Village businesses have given their backing and voted ‘YES’ in favour of setting up a Business Improvement District (BID) in Hampstead Village. The BID will see businesses investing £1.2m over five years in positive initiatives to improve the trading environment and will give businesses a stronger influence on how the village is managed. The BID process was instigated by the owners of some of Hampstead’s smaller independent businesses and the Hampstead NW3 Business Association, who looked at all options available to best preserve and develop Hampstead’s appeal as a destination both for residents and visitors. The objective of the BID is to drive footfall for businesses and to sustain and enhance the unique vibe of Hampstead village. Results announced by Electoral Reform Services on Friday 15th July showed that 66% of those businesses who voted were in favour of the BID. The vote gives the go-ahead for the BID to take forward its five-year Business Plan to drive investment in Hampstead Village and give local businesses a greater say in the way it is marketed, maintained and managed.

Andrew Lavery, Chair of the Hampstead BID said: “I am absolutely delighted to confirm that businesses in Hampstead have said YES to the BID. The Hampstead NW3 Business Association team along with others have spent the last year developing a robust Business Plan and it is tremendous that local businesses have decided to seize this opportunity. The BID will not only develop our local capability to do more and better things to enhance our area, but also more importantly it will mean that Hampstead Village has a greater chance to thrive and prosper as we move forward. In that we join over 50 other BIDs across London, including 4 in Camden alone, many of which have shown the benefits of professional management of an area and the rewards that brings. The hard work begins now and we will continue to work with all businesses large and small and the wider Hampstead Village community to ensure that Hampstead Village remains the place we love and are proud of.” Sean Spence, Managing Director of Gary Ingham Hairdressing said: “As a local independent business owner, I am 100% behind the BID and the positive

initiatives that will result for small and medium size businesses. Hampstead needs a professionally-run organisation to market and promote Hampstead Village, make our area a better place for businesses, locals and visitors and help us all look to a successful and profitable future.” The BID will create a not-for-profit company to carry out a range of practical improvements, projects and services, with practical decisions on projects and expenditure overseen by an elected Board of local business representatives drawn from a representative range of industry sectors. As well as enhancing services provided by Camden Council including waste management and street cleanliness, it will focus on addressing key local issues such as parking and accessibility, improving the street scene and enhancing the marketing and promotion of Hampstead Village. For more information please The Mosaic Partnership on: www.themosaicpartnership.co.uk Tel: 0845 250 8099

Hampstead Village BID Task Group members Karen Howell, Caroline Goldsack, Andrew Lavery (Chair), Mayank Patel and Helen Duncan with Cllr Oliver Cooper (2nd R) at the BID Declaration


for Places The Blachere Digital Pathway for Places is about connecting your place – the people and businesses in it – to make a real and lasting difference.

In today’s towns, cities and high streets, it is no longer sufficient to provide a passive service, assuming that businesses will thrive and visitors will come. It is not even enough to manage a well-kept and attractive environment. Visitors to your place, whether local residents or tourists, will research, document and comment on their visit so they need to be able to understand your offer before coming, have a great experience whilst there and provide positive feedback after the event. Businesses face similar challenges: they need to not only be online but use the digital world as an opportunity to showcase their brand and, importantly, attract new customers and

promote what they are doing. And what technology offers is the opportunity for all of this to be done seamlessly, connecting places with their business community, businesses with customers near and far and reengaging visitors with the places they know and love (as well as discovering new places to fall in love with). The Blachere Digital Pathway for Places is being launched as a way for you to discover where your place sits on the road to becoming a fully integrated digital town or city and how you can more easily travel along the road to connectivity. Blachere Illumination are proudly getting behind this initiative as they fully understand the wider benefits of connecting places

with their communities, not just through lights but through all experiences and how, in this digital age, the things that we see, hear, feel, taste and touch in the places we visit or work in are talked about and celebrated online. The starting point for the Digital Pathway for Places is a straightforward series of questions that will allow us to understand what you have achieved so far, what your digital aspirations are and how we can help you realise them. We will tell you if you are “aspiring,” “achieving” or “exceeding” against your own targets and against other places around the country, and will help you to promote and celebrate brilliant connected, collaborative,


Blachere Illumination is sponsoring 10 towns/cities to take the Digital Pathway for Places. If you would like to take part for free email

[email protected]

innovation. Equally, this process will allow you to learn from those great initiatives happening elsewhere. And because the pathway is about connecting your community, we are encouraging users of your town or city to get involved too. Once we have begun the initial process with you, we will give you two online surveys for you to share with your businesses and your visitors. The results of these will help shape the next steps that you can take to continue moving your place forwards digitally. The Blachere Digital Pathway for Places will add to the experience that businesses and visitors receive and will enable your place to compete and enjoy at least some of the tools that large

retailers, shopping centres and online retail enjoys. The Pathway covers all aspects of “digital,” from static websites, local apps and high street marketplaces to wi-fi, augmented reality and data capture and management. All, though, as these things relate to the physical appearance, experience and infrastructure of your place – the bits that will ultimately encourage visitors to come to you. Revive & Thrive is fundamentally committed to helping places be better and do better and this invaluable tool will both reward you and make it easier for you to achieve your digital dreams. Participants will receive an accreditation certification, a benchmark of achievement and a

pathway to further development, along with support and advice to help move you up the league table of digital towns and a review of your on-going progress. Sign up to Revive & Thrive Town Leadership Membership in July, and receive all of this for just £50. That also includes additional editorial content in Place Magazine and on the Revive & Thrive website and social media coverage to encourage your residents and businesses to participate. Standard prices for Blachere Digital Pathway for Places accreditation: Revive & Thrive Town Leadership Members can join the Blachere Digital Pathway for Places at a reduced rate of £325+ VAT. Non-members can also get involved for just £375+ VAT.

How have you incorporated street entertainment into the management of your place to provide an enhanced visitor experience? >> REVIVE & THRIVE’S 38

Munro BLOG Colin Miconex

Last week we visited Kendal to help setup the new Kendal Gift Card, due to launch on the 10th September. The Kendal Gift Card will be the second programme in the UK to launch using the Presend gift card platform. Kendal Business Improvement District manager Sarah Williams has identified this project as a way of helping to keep more spend in Kendal and specifically within the BID area. The Kendal Gift Card will use the Visa infrastructure to create a new hyper local currency for BID businesses. People

Kendal Gift Card will be able to purchase the gift cards online, via the Tourist Information Centre and other retailers. They can then give the loaded gift card as a present that can be spent in an extensive network of local businesses. Over the course of two days we visited over 100 business to explain the programme and ask if the member businesses would like to accept this new form of payment - 57 businesses said yes! Now anyone that works in towns and cities knows that it can be difficult to get businesses involved in collaborative projects so how was this achievable? To be honest it was really easy as there is no cost to the businesses in accepting this new form of payment, they don’t need to offer any discounts, there are no contracts required and they don’t need to make any changes to their payment terminals.

This means it’s possible to get multiples as well as independent businesses involved. Trespass, Clarks Shoes, Denby, Klass, Domo and many more are now set up ready to accept The Kendal Gift Card once it launches. Any BID business that already accepts Visa as a form of payment will be able to accept the new gift card so that means the gift card can be used at venues, cafes, restaurants, shops, hotels and salons across the whole BID area. We are delighted to be working with Kendal BID on this project and looking forward to the launch. If you would like to find out more about how to create a town or city-wide gift card programme please email me at [email protected]


Revive & Thrive’s New Membership Structure



Town Leadership Member This membership level is best suited for BID Managers, Town Centre Managers, Town Teams, Local Authority employees and other voluntary groups. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Connect with others, share best practice and experience in running a successful town or city Solve your local conundrums and put questions to the place professionals on the Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel for free. Exclusive only to Revive & Thrive members. Receive Revive & Thrive’s Place for Towns and Cities Magazine direct to your inbox Unlimited opportunities to promote your place and its events via multiple blogs, thought pieces and other articles within Place Magazine. Higher profile within Place Magazine Discount on all Revive & Thrive services Participate in the Blachere Digital Pathway Enter the £70,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge and the £20,000 Blachere Christmas Light Competition Discounted entry to all Revive & Thrive Events Networking Host your own Revive & Thrive event Receive the monthly UK Markets Index Receive discounts and special offers from our Business Group members Be the first to hear about the newest and most innovative town solutions Extended deadlines within our competitions and challenges

People Passionate about their Place Membership Individual membership for people doing wonderful things in their town. Collaboration is the key to the future of the high street and where we live. • • • • • • • • • •

Submit one article per month to Revive & Thrive’s Place for Towns and Cities Magazine to promote your local projects Limited access to solve your local conundrums and put questions to the place professionals on the Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel for free. Exclusive to Revive & Thrive members. Enter the £70,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge and the £20,000 Blachere Christmas Light Competition Participate in the Blachere Digital Pathway Sharing your voice in our newsletters and at our events Revive & Thrive Cost Reduction Services (available if you upgrade to Town Leaders membership) Discounts and special offers Discounted entry to all our Talking Town events Host one of our regional events Extended deadlines within our competitions and challenges

Annual Membership £42.50+VAT

Individual Membership £75+VAT (1 individual) Dual Membership £125+VAT (2 individuals) Full Membership only £245+VAT (5 individuals) Take 12 months Town Leadership Members subscription before 5th Sept and get one ticket for the Town Solutions Conference for free

Memberships 2016

Business Group Membership

Revive & Thrive Associate Membership

Supporting organisations that provide town solution services and products to connect with communities UK wide. • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

Promote your business Come face to face with your target customer base Take part in our Talking Towns Events Discount to exhibit and take part in the Revive & Thrive Town Centre Solutions Challenge. Connect with others, share best practice and experience in running a successful town or city Put questions to the place professionals on the Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel for free. Exclusive to Revive & Thrive members. Receive Revive & Thrive’s Place for Towns and Cities Magazine direct to your inbox Unlimited opportunities to promote your place and its events via multiple blogs, thought pieces and other articles within Place Magazine. Place has a reach in excess of 30,000 and is aimed at towns, cities, UK destinations, Councils, BIDs, Town Team, Towns Partnership and all others passionate about place. Attend our inclusive Business Group meetings Benefit from discounts and special offers Take part in our competitions showcasing best practice Revive & Thrive Cost Reduction Services Be part of our Town Solution Services Directory Receive the monthly UK Markets Index Keep updated with opportunities and news via our monthly newsletter

Annual Membership only £425+VAT. Bespoke packages available on request

Associate membership of Revive & Thrive is open to all those working in a freelance capacity with towns, cities and communities up and down the country. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• Increase your links with other high calibre professionals across the UK Benefit from both internal and external expertise Regular networking meetings Increase your earning potential Solve your local conundrums and put questions to the place professionals on the Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel for free. Exclusive to Revive & Thrive members. Receive Revive & Thrive’s Place for Towns and Cities Magazine direct to your inbox Unlimited opportunities to promote your place and its events via multiple blogs, thought pieces and other articles within Place Magazine. Discount on all Revive & Thrive services Participate in the Blachere Digital Pathway Enter the £70,000 Revive & Thrive Challenge and the £20,000 Blachere Christmas Light Competition Raise your profile by submitting articles for our newsletters and magazine Share best practice and good news stories with our 30,000+ followers Discounted entry to Revive & Thrive events Take advantage of Revive & Thrive’s cost reduction services Discounts and special offers on our Businesses Group members’ products and services Earn commission on Revive & Thrive membership and business group sales Be part of a solution focused collaboration aimed at improving our country’s towns, cities, villages and high streets

Annual Membership £100+VAT or £10+VAT per month

Click to Apply or See More Information


Revive & Thrive’s

Expert Panel With Revive & Thrive you are never far away from a solution to a problem and finding the answers that you are looking for is now easier than ever, thanks to Revive & Thrive’s Expert Panel. Whether you want a simple answer to a straightforward question or an opinion on policy change the Revive & Thrive Expert Panel is here to help. Our panel of highly experienced professionals, passionate about their areas of expertise, are offering to share their knowledge at no cost to all Revive & Thrive members. The panel will grow over time and if you don’t think any of them are suited to answering your question, contact us anyway and we will find an expert who can. We all look forward to hearing from you.

Mo Aswat The Place Management and BIDs Expert Jean Ball The Events Expert

Ronnie Brown

Alison John

The Experiences and Lighting Expert

The Pop Up Shops Expert

Jeff Caplan

Sven Latham

The Mystery Shopper Expert

The Data and KPIs Expert

Sailesh Chauhan

Matthew Powell

The Digital Ecosystems Expert Jonathan Docksey The Wayfinding Expert

The Business Engagement Expert David Snelders The Retail Training Expert

Mark Barnes

Helen Goodwin

David Sturdy

The Place Solutions Expert

The Visual Displays Expert

The Footfall Expert

Mark Brodermann

Noel James

UK Engage

The Historic Towns Expert

The BID Ballot Experts

The Digital Comms Expert

Alison BowcottMcGrath The Use of Space Expert

Steph James The Community Engagement Expert

If you are a member and you want to submit a query, simply email asktheexpert@ reviveandthrive.co.uk or call 03330 124285 to find out more.


Presenting Revive & Thrive’s Corporate Advocates All of Revive & Thrive membership subscriptions help to fund Revive & Thrive’s activities including the valuable yearly challenges, the Talking Towns Events and Annual Conference, Place Magazine and promotion of the Expert Panel. We are very grateful for the ongoing and fast growing support of the membership. However, our Corporate Advocates take support to the next level. Their sponsorship and support enables us to keep our charges low or free across every service that we offer. Our Corporate Advocates ensure that support and solutions are available to communities and places of all sizes whatever opportunities and challenge they are experiencing and whatever budget they possess. Thank you for your support and we are proud to introduce our current Advocates and Sponsors.

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Revive & Thrive Events 2016 We look forward to seeing you at one or more of our events in 2016. Please see the feedback here to see how much people have enjoyed our previous events. For early notification of when booking goes live for the events, please email [email protected]

29th and 30th September 2016

Revive & Thrive Annual Conference and Exhibition (also finals of both Revive & Thrive Challenges and Blachere Christmas Light Competition)

Date in October 2016 tbc Talking Towns London

Discounts for all of these events are available to Revive & Thrive Members. Find a membership to suit you here. If you wanted to host an event in your area in 2016 or start planning for 2017 please email [email protected]

Monika & Roger Curry, Bodenhams bira members since 1949

Being a bira member gives us peace of mind that there’s free expert advice just a call away.

Benefits of bira retail membership: Free legal protection Competitive auto enrolment pension scheme Card processing savings

Competitive loans and deposits from bira bank Preferential business banking (30% cheaper than standard tarrifs*)

Preferential terms from our buying group Retail training (including 25% discount at Oxford Summer School)

Bespoke retail insurance Royalty free music deals Telecoms discounts Utilities discounts Mobile marketing

To find out more about joining bira please get in touch: Contact us 0800 028 0245

Follow us on social media

f British Independent Retail Association

[email protected]

biraofficial

www.bira.co.uk

British Independent Retailers Association

bira are giving the winner of the ‘Revive & Thrive Challenge for Places 2016’ a package of City & Guilds accredited Distance Learning Courses! The courses include Selling Skills, Supervisory Skills, Buying & Merchandising. Get more information about the courses at www.bira.co.uk/retail-training * Non-member cost per annum £1,394, member cost £639. Saving assumes total turnover of £250,000 per annum based on a typical bira member profile.

Independent shop

Exclusive offer worth £840!

We want to hear stories about your place! Submission deadline for articles for the September Issue of Place Magazine:

8th September

Memberships 2016

PLACE MAGAZINE WWW.REVIVEANDTHRIVE.CO.UK REVIVEANDTHRIVE @REVIVE_THRIVE Tel: 03330 124285 © 2016 Revive & Thrive