In 2018 the GFSB commissioned a study of Main Street and its surrounding area to ascertain if there was anything that could be done to help businesses. This was an important exercise to know where the high street was and where it could go. The Main Street Review highlighted a number of things that could be done to improve the whole area for both locals and tourists. The best mechanism for this type of change was with the forming of a Business Improvement District (BID) which have proved very successful in the UK and USA.
The GFSB agreed that a BID would be a great way to move forward, to accomplish some of the findings/recommendations the Main St Review proposed, and spoke to Mosaic Partnership one of the UK’s leading BID implementing firms. Once a budget and plan was put together, the GFSB approached Government to help fund it, which they did. This gave the project the momentum it needed to get started. The Government then later committed to matching pound for pound the contributions made by retail and leisure.
Fast forward past COVID and all the other challenges, to last week, where Isola’s gave the all-important announcement that the BID vote had been successful with over 60% majority voting in favour.
The GFSB is very proud of this initiative and all the work that has been going on behind the scenes for nearly three years to get to this point. Now it is no longer a GFSB project but becomes its very own entity. We truly believe that the BID will propel Main Street and the surrounding area forward.
Congratulations to the BID team, and thanks to the Government for their support.
The GFSB will continue to support the BID and any other initiatives it feels will benefit GFSB members and Gibraltar PLC.
GFSB Chairperson Julian Byrne said “When I took on the responsibility of Chairperson I had a clear goal in mind, and that was to do all I could to improve business for our members. One of the first tasks was to tackle the city centre, so we commissioned the Main Street review. This was supposed to be a one year project, but it was clear from the findings that more was needed and that the BID would be the way forward. The GFSB has been hard at work behind the scenes to get the BID to a point where it runs itself. It is great to see the strong BID team and how they are moving the project forward, and how many businesses are backing the BID. We are also grateful for the Government’s support.
Overall a great success for the GFSB, the BID and Gibraltar!”
