CITY

VOICE

We lobby and influence local and national government on behalf of our businesses and ensure our voice is heard by being active in British BIDs, the BID Foundation and the Association of Town and City Management.

We see ourselves as a catalyst for change, influencing ideas and enabling action, a driving force to make new things happen in Sunderland City Centre.

As Sunderland continues to attract private and public investment, we ensure that business voices are heard at the highest levels so that decisions will have a lasting positive impact on the city in the coming years.

Making sure you have more of a say in the future of Sunderland City Centre will remain a key priority. We will always fight your corner and help you solve problems you could not tackle alone.

In addition to the BID levy, we pursue additional income streams to reinvest in the BID area.

By working together, sharing knowledge, and collaborating with other city BIDs, we identify more funding opportunities and submit more applications.

Stronger relationships with commercial partners have enabled us to create bespoke sponsorship opportunities for them, and we offer an Affilliate Scheme for those organisations who wish to get involved in transforming our city centre by making a financial contribution.

We maximise city partnerships to add value to our businesses.

We bring individuals, businesses and sectors together to collaborate on new additions and attractions that drive footfall and secure economic benefits to all involved.

Our strong partnerships with key stakeholders bring additional marketing value by amplifying the message of regular networking events, forums and briefings.

We are always seeking new alliances to bring connectivity and fresh ideas to the city centre, benefit dwell time, connect communities, bring more funding, attract different audiences, expand our profile, and enhance the overall visitor experience.

Keeping businesses informed and up to date is essential.

Sharing critical city information and intelligence with BID businesses is integral to what we do.

We incorporate new elements into our communication methods to match the requirements of sectors and organisations in the Sunderland BID area so everyone is well-versed in what is happening in the city.

In addition to organising Professionals Lunches and Business Breakfasts, we are working on providing more innovative networking opportunities.

We have many inspirational examples in Sunderland where city centre businesses have committed to tackling major environmental and social issues.

There has been positive action across sectors, including fashion, hospitality, health & beauty, and banking. It’s not just the nationals that are taking ESG seriously; we have many good examples from our Independent businesses too.

The BID shares and learns from how our businesses approach environmental issues, including reducing carbon emissions and waste, embracing diversity, and committing to charity partnerships.

We see it as an essential role of the BID to set a good example regarding an ESG ethos in everything we do. We work with our levy payers to boost their levels of ESG to ensure that Sunderland city centre is a place that works to balance people, planet and profit.