The aim of town centre management is to enhance the town centres for everyone through working in partnership.
Business Improvement Districts
In North Hertfordshire, three of the major towns have Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) which are formalised partnerships funded by local ratepayers with an agreed strategy and action plan for improvement. They are operate with, but independently of, the Council.
The partnerships include members from various organisations, such as retailers, businesses, public sector organisations, voluntary and community groups, all of whom have an interest in their town centre.
In order to co-ordinate and progress the work of town centre partnerships, each partnership has employed a Town Centre Manager. It is the role of the Town Centre Manager to work with the partnership to help them achieve their aims and goals.
| Town | BID name | Contact details |
|---|---|---|
| Hitchin | Hitchin Initiative and Hitchin Business Improvement District | 1a Churchyard Hitchin SG5 1HR Telephone: 01462 453335 Email: info@hitchinherts.com www.hitchinherts.com |
| Letchworth | Letchworth Garden City Business Improvement District Ltd | 76 Eastcheap Letchworth Garden City SG6 3DD Telephone: 01462 486999 Email: bid@loveletchworth.com www.loveletchworth.com |
| Royston | Royston First Business Improvement District | Royston Town Hall Melbourn Street Royston SG8 7DA Tel: 01763 878242 Email: info@roystonfirst.com www.roystonfirst.com |
Town centre recovery and development plans
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, North Herts Council commissioned studies into each of our four town centres to establish evidence bases for the development of town programmes and strategies. Each study gives suggestions for potential projects that could be taken forward within a development strategy framework and potential governance structures to manage the programmes and projects that could assist the town centre in developing successfully over the next decade.
Each town centre study is available to view below: