About Watford Town Centre BID
Watford Town Centre BID is a private, not-for-profit limited company, funded via an annual levy by nearly 500 businesses and organisations operating in the BID area. Formerly known as Watford BID,
in 2023 we changed our name to Watford Town Centre BID to reflect the area we operate in and to coincide with the launch of the Watford Town Centre brand.
BID stands for ‘Business Improvement District’ and there are over 330 of them in the UK. BIDs are a great way for local businesses and organisations to work together to address issues affecting their trading environment. Problems which are too large or widespread for any one business to address can be solved by all businesses coming together to finance and manage improvements. This can increase footfall, make it easier to retain staff, solve difficult issues and ultimately result in higher profits.
Watford BID Ltd began trading on 1 April 2016 and is currently in its second five-year BID term, following a successful renewal ballot in February 2021.
We aim to deliver the projects and services set out in the BID business plan 2021-2026.
Resources
Resources for our BID Businesses can be found here:
BID Business Plan 2021 – 2026.
BID levy payer fact sheet
Watford Town Centre BID latest newsletter
Crime & Safety latest newsletter
BID Annual Report 2024
Cardboard Collection Service Operational Agreement
The latest news and information
The BID levy
We are funded primarily by all the eligible businesses and organisations in the BID area paying an annual BID levy. This levy income allows us to deliver against the BID business plan. It is also used to lever in more funding; for example, from public sector agencies, grant bodies and sponsorship during the 5-year term, maximising the potential funding stream and the benefits that the BID can achieve. Over the course of its first term, Watford BID Ltd generated 29% additional income, which was reinvested back into the BID area to support businesses.
What we do
Here is a snapshot of the main services we offer and the projects we manage:
- Support and represent local businesses
- Crime & safety initiatives
- Marketing our town
- Promoting your organisation
- Watford Town Centre events & activities
- Floral displays
- Lamppost banners
- Christmas installations
- LED tree lighting
- Welcoming & inclusive initiatives
- Cardboard collection service
- Sustainability events
- Additional cleanliness initiatives
- Business Improvement Grant
- Social & B2B events
- Watford Gift Card
- BID newsletters & email communications
- Watford Town Centre performance insights
- Watford LinkUp
- Wellbeing campaigns
Watford Business Against Crime
If your business suffers at the hands of shoplifters or individuals carrying out antisocial behaviour then we encourage you to join our Watford Business Against Crime (WBAC) scheme.
Contact our BID office and arrange for our WBAC co-ordinator to drop in and see you.
Let’s LinkUp
Watford LinkUp is a platform created exclusively for people working in Watford to connect with each other and share information. We have partnered with Watford & West Herts Chamber of Commerce to extend the reach to their members and give all users the ability to:
- Connect with Watford businesses and employees
- View and upload news and events
- Access exclusive promotions and discounts available only to LinkUp users
- Start discussions and chat with local employees
- Access resources that are confidential to local businesses
As a Watford Town Centre employee, by signing up you will have editor permissions allowing you to add your own news, events and offers – it’s a completely free form of B2B marketing aimed at local organisations and their staff.
Create your profile and become a part of our growing Watford business community!
Dates for your diary
Here are details of any upcoming BID meetings or events.
For Watford Business Against Crime members, our monthly meeting takes place on the first Wednesday of every month from 10:45-11:30am at One YMCA, Charter House.