Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) is pleased to announce that following the receipt of nine impressive applications to its ‘CREATE Fund’ last month, funding has now been awarded to applications to bring exciting new ventures to the city centre.

Those with ideas for new businesses, creative arts projects, events, pop-up shops or workshops were invited to submit an application to the BID’s CREATE Fund last month, to have the chance to turn their dreams into reality, thanks to the all-important financial the fund provides to help deliver them.

The BID set aside up to £3,000 per successful applicant in this last funding round to contribute towards a selection of creative and innovative new business ideas, events or projects that will have a positive impact in the Stoke-on-Trent City Centre area.

Following a meeting of the judging panel - made up of the BID’s board of directors including Jonathan Bellamy, Chief Executive of Cross Rhythms City Radio and Chairman of the BID; Sara Williams, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and Lead Director for the BID’s Business Community Support priority; Paul Williams, Lead Director for the BID’s Place Marketing priority; Julie Davies, County Business Crime Partnership Manager for PABCIS and Lead Director for the BID’s Place Management priority; Josef Bailey, owner of the QUARTER café and representative of independent businesses - it was decided that funding would be awarded to the following applications: 

1. ESTATE by AirSpace Gallery: Later in 2020, this project will see an interactive, multimedia touring artwork, compiled by world famous artist Jimmy Cauty and comprising of four concrete tower blocks built at 1:24 scale and displayed within a 40 foot shipping container for passers-by to enter and be immersed in the riotous scenes inside.  

2. Every Other Seat by DUST Rising - This outdoor pop-up art exhibition is to take place in Piccadilly later this year and it highlights the role that the arts and creative groups have in the regeneration and development of a thriving business sector through a display of unique and distinct seats, imploring people to consider what theatre and art establishments may look like in the ‘new normal’.

3. The Secret City by Potboiler Theatre - This audio walking tour adventure, set to be launched in 2021, will harness the natural theatre of the streets of Hanley and invite participants on a journey into epic dramas and intimate hidden stories in the city centre, offering a radical new experience and a chance to rediscover its beauty, strength and individuality. 

4. The Stoke 2000 - This project pays homage to the culture and industrial heritage of our city through an art trail of bottle-ovens and other relatable products across the city centre, made by the creative industry from recycled wooden pallets, to be displayed in 2021.

5. Wastelands Portraits by Urban Wilderness - Later this month, Urban Wilderness will be celebrating diversity, creativity and green spaces through a series of dynamic portraits in empty shop front windows in the city centre as part of their ‘Wastelands Portraits’ project to improve the cityscape and promote a positive, diverse and friendly image of our city.

A further application - Totem Stoke, a mixed arts and culture event encompassing musicians, painters, poets, producers, film makers and more - will be supported as part of the BID’s Better World Festival in summer 2021, which aims to celebrate our planet and seeks to ask and address those questions about how we can all start making sustainable choices today for a better world tomorrow.

Sara Williams thinks the BID’s support for budding entrepreneurs through the CREATE Fund is a huge positive for the city centre: 

“This new initiative is a chance for the BID to give a real helping hand to those who are keen to make a positive difference within the city centre. Along with the rest of the BID Board, I am wholly in favour of any initiative that can be of benefit to potential entrepreneurs, and I am excited to see positive contributions made to the lives of those living, working and visiting the City Centre through new business ventures, events and projects that this fund will help deliver.”

BID Manager Richard Buxton added: “At the BID, we love creative people and enjoy being able to lend a helping hand to those individuals and groups who have a real passion for their city and bringing something new, exciting and engaging to it. 

"Often, the idea is there but they just need a small stepping stone to allow them to transform their ideas into reality, so that is where the CREATE Fund comes in; it provides the opportunities to launch something new - be it a workshop or project, a new store, an event or something entirely different - with the BID on-hand to support and advise.”

The BID’s aim, over its 5-year term from 2018 – 2023, is to ensure that the key priority areas of focus - Place Management, which looks at improving the look and feel of the area to provide a more attractive trading environment; Place Marketing, which aims to improve the perceptions of the city centre through events and initiatives to increase footfall and Business Community Support, which seeks to empower businesses through training and networking - are delivered, whilst representing the 436 levy-paying businesses in the BID area, spanning 75 streets.

The CREATE Fund will be accepting applicants again in early 2021. It is designed for applicants who already have a strongly developed idea, but need a small amount of revenue funding to develop, test and launch their initiative which must meet some of the criteria listed below:

- Increase footfall within the City Centre

- Raise awareness of the City Centre’s unique offerings

- Enhance and improve the experience of those visiting the City Centre

- Deliver a strong marketing offer to highlight the City Centre’s hidden gems

- Increase the safety of those visiting the City Centre

- Provide a cleaner and greener environment to attract visitors

- Reduce anti-social behaviour and crime within the City Centre

- Enhance and improve the streetscape of the City Centre

More information on the application process will be released in due course.

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