Watford Town Centre
Business Improvement District

What we do

Here is a snapshot of the main services we offer and the projects we run.

Marketing

We promote Watford Town Centre as a destination. Our goal is to drive footfall, spend and dwell time in the town centre by showcasing all that’s on offer, reaching out to anyone who lives, works, visits or runs a business in Watford Town Centre.

Instagram @WatfordTownCentre

TikTok @WatfordTownCentre

 Facebook @WatfordTownCentre

Twitter/X @WatTownCentre

LinkedIn @WatfordTownCentreBID

Promoting your organisation

We are committed to promoting our levy paying businesses on the Watford Town Centre website and on our social media channels. Email us on marketing@watfordtowncentre.com or ring 01923 919989 to tell us your news or to request a visit from us.

Events & activities

“Winterfest” and “Christmas lights switch-on” – Coordinated annual free to attend Christmas events to attract thousands of visitors to our town.

“Birds of Prey Experience” – Invited Berkshire Birds of Prey to provide a free interactive experience with Watford Town Centre visitors in August 2024 (returning in August 2025).

“Wellbeing Day” – Organised a day out for families to celebrate “Emergency Services Day”, “National Fitness Day” and “World First Aid Day” with fun, free activities.

“Trick or Treat week” – Celebrated spooky season with the thrilling Trick or Treat show and Trick or Treat trail to encourage footfall and dwell time.

Easter programme of activities – Introduced a fortnight of Easter fun, including a hugely popular Easter Egg Hunt where we gave out 6,000 mini chocolate eggs!

“Watford Fringe Festival Presents: Cultural Party” – Partnered with Watford Pump House Theatre and Watford Council to have a huge summer celebration by the pond!

Safe & secure

We want you, your staff, customers, and clients to have a positive experience in Watford Town Centre and feel safe and comfortable while here. That’s why we work closely with our town’s ‘Community Safety Partnership’ and are committed to:

• Providing an excellent service to members of our business crime reduction partnership: ‘Watford Business Against Crime’.
• Contributing to the town centre CCTV system.
• Monitoring street drinking, begging and rough sleepers and immediately notifying the relevant authorities of antisocial behaviour issues, working with them to minimise the impact on Watford Town Centre users.
• Supporting the police and levy payers with the identification of offenders for theft and burglary
• Working with partner agencies on important issues, such as reducing Violence Against Women (VAWG).

Colourful displays

Flowers

Every summer we install eye catching floral displays, adding colour and vibrancy to Watford Town Centre. Our beautiful planters are positioned on the length of the High Street and along the key roads that adjoin it (where pavement space permits!) as well as across the pond bridge and on lamppost columns on Queens Road.

Each year, our levy payers have the opportunity to purchase hanging baskets from us at cost price from our supplier to improve their own frontages, as we recognise the additional vibrancy these business baskets bring to the streetscape.

Lamppost banners

In June 2024, Watford Town Centre BID introduced a brand-new set of lamppost banners to prominent streets in the heart of Watford.

Watford High Street, The Parade, Market Street, Clarendon Road, Queens Road, Watford Market, Charter Place and Kings Street each has their own unique banner design utilising the Watford Town Centre branding.  Arrows are employed on selected banners to help town users navigate their way around Watford Town Centre.

The lamppost banners, designed by Watford-based marketing agency We Are Acuity, also have icons that showcase the range of business sectors that can be found in each part of Watford Town Centre.  Whether it’s retail, places to eat, services or entertainment & leisure, the lamppost banners help to inform town users of what they can expect to find within each part of Watford Town Centre.

 

Special events

We encourage businesses in Watford Town Centre with window frontages to dress them up during times of celebration, including when Watford FC reached the FA cup final and for his majesty the King’s Coronation.

Our LED lights, installed on trees along The Parade and High Street, are switched on for key events and special occasions.

Christmas Lights

Watford Town Centre BID has been responsible for the funding and management of the Christmas Lights displays since 2019. We also organise the big Winterfest / Christmas Lights Switch-On event each year which attracts thousands of visitors into Watford Town Centre.

Business Improvement Grants

Our business improvement grant scheme operates on an annual basis and gives levy paying businesses the opportunity to apply for a grant to make an improvement to their business. If you would like to find out more, please contact our office.

Watford Gift Card

We launched the Watford Gift Card in February 2020 and our businesses can sign up for free to accept it as a method of payment – it goes through the till in the same way as a Mastercard debit transaction would. By doing so, our businesses benefit from the extensive marketing that we carry out throughout the year to promote the card as being ‘the gift of choice’ for anyone living in the local area. The Watford Gift Card scheme is designed to lock in spend in Watford Town Centre and promote the range of businesses we have in our town.

Social & B2B events

We recognise the value that feeling part of the Watford Town Centre business community can bring to those working here, so we create regular opportunities to bring people together to connect, such as our Breakfast with the BID networking event and our BID socials.

October Ball

Our October Ball is a ticketed black-tie gala dinner, hosted at The Langley. Attendees enjoy a drinks reception, followed by dinner, awards and dancing. You can view our October Ball films on our YouTube channel.

We also hold evening get togethers at one of the bars, pubs or leisure venues in Watford Town Centre, twice a year, for BID businesses and their staff to come along to for an informal catch up with the BID team and colleagues from around the town centre. Keep an eye on our ‘Dates for your diary’ section for our upcoming events.

Watford Town Centre metrics

We collect vacancy rate data and retail spend insights to understand where people who come to Watford are travelling in from and how long they are staying for. We also monitor vacant properties and speak to lettings agents / property owners to understand the nature of the vacancy and compare our local data with national rates to understand how Watford Town Centre is performing.

Cardboard recycling scheme

As Watford strives to be an eco-friendlier town, we have made sustainability one of our core objectives and are committed to supporting businesses in Watford Town Centre become carbon neutral.

We have coordinated a free cardboard collection scheme since February 2023, collecting cardboard waste from registered businesses in the BID area in our electric van. We have recycled over 18 tonnes of cardboard to date!

The service enables eligible businesses to dispose of commercial cardboard free of charge and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. To be eligible you must be up to date with your BID levy payments.