Members Annual General Meeting - Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UK

Boston Area, Lincolnshire Chamber Of Commerce & Industry Ltd,

In his report to the members, Chairman of the Area Council, Shaun McGarry, gave a resume of the activities of the Chamber over the past year. He made reference to the growing strength of support being developed from the Lincoln Central Service and how this had complemented local area activities.

The Chamber had continued to represent business interests at local, County and National level with transport and taxation issues being to the fore.

Membership levels in the Boston Area have broadly been maintained over the year with some loss of members due to business closures and retirements.

Member Networking Events which are held right around the County continued to attract high levels of interest and it was particularly good to note an attendance of over forty at the event held at the White Hart in May.

By monthly Business Club meetings which are organised in partnership with Boston Borough Council and Business Link have also been regularly well supported. Looking ahead to 2008 the members were given a brief overview of the prospects for and process involved to bring a Business Improvement District to Boston.

In introducing this, Shaun McGarry described this as a chance to do something different to have a positive affect on the town of Boston. With potentially up to £1 million to spend over 5 years this is an opportunity to make Boston a more attractive retail and visitor experience.

The concept of BID’s was created in Canada in the 1970’s and is now well established in the USA. At the present time 44 are working well in the UK including Lincoln and Sleaford.

A BID is a defined area in which companies reach an agreement by voting to invest collectively in planned local improvements to enhance the trading environment.

A BID in Boston could involve up to 600 businesses, working in partnership with other agencies. It would aim to deliver real benefits for Boston. Particularly to establish the higher standards necessary to make the Town a better place to visit.

Shaun McGarry Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce said, “What is done and how it is done will be down to the business within the BID area. The Chamber of Commerce will be promoting the initiative by working with a group of business owners and managers toward building the business plan for a ballot next year. This has been highly successful in other areas and has the potential to bring significant improvements to Boston”.