A group championing the businesses of Morecambe town centre has been re-elected to serve a third term.
Morecambe BID (Business Improvement District) will continue for at least another five years after a successful vote in a ballot of local firms.
Businesses across Morecambe voted overwhelmingly in favour of the BID continuing in the town, with 111 out of 115 who took part voting for renewal.
The result secures Morecambe BID’s work for a further five years, covering the town centre and promenade through to 2031.
Morecambe BID is a not-for-profit Business Improvement District company, funded by local businesses, which formed in 2016.
The BID is run day to day by a part-time BID Manager, John O’Neill, and a BID Ambassador, Daniel Brereton, supported by a committee of local volunteers who give their time alongside running their own businesses and careers.
Different initiatives across the town are headed up by different volunteers on that committee - among them a solicitor, a hospitality manager, a college vice principal, an IT consultant and the leader of the town’s Safe Morecambe partnership - all working unpaid to help shape the town’s future.
Since forming, the BID has delivered a long list of improvements across the town, including new CCTV cameras, murals, free public WiFi across the town centre and Promenade, extended winter lighting such as the promenade light cones and Euston Road canopy, bike racks, MoreWatch town-centre radios, and the interactive Playnetics trail along the seafront.
Alongside these visible projects, the BID continues to work behind the scenes representing Morecambe’s businesses, lobbying all the way up to Westminster on issues that affect the town.
The BID has also helped establish the Safe Morecambe partnership with Lancashire Police, the local MP and Lancaster City Council, run match-funded Super Grants supporting business improvement works, and raised over £163,500 in external funding just over the last five years - on top of the BID levy - reinvested directly into local projects, events and festivals.
David Waddington with local police officers at the Eric Morecambe Statue
“This is a tremendous result, and one the whole town should be proud of," said David Waddington, chair of Morecambe BID and owner of town centre business Miogelato.
"Our committee is entirely volunteers - people who already run their own businesses and careers, each giving up time to lead different projects across the town, because they care about Morecambe. A result like this tells us that effort hasn’t gone unnoticed.
"It gives us a clear mandate to keep going, and to build on everything we’ve delivered together over the past five years.”
John O’Neill, Morecambe BID manager, said: “When you look at everything that’s been delivered since 2016 - from CCTV and lighting to the WiFi network, the Playnetics trail and our work with Safe Morecambe - it’s been achieved by a genuinely small team and a committee of volunteers giving up their evenings and weekends.
"Working with a very small budget means we have to work smarter to make the money stretch. To see businesses back that so strongly in this ballot means a great deal, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote and everyone who has helped deliver the last five years.”
Daniel Brereton, Morecambe BID Ambassador, said: “I’m out on the streets and in and out of businesses every week, so I know first-hand how much people care about Morecambe and want to see it thrive.
"Seeing that reflected in the ballot result is brilliant - it means we get to carry on with the markets, the events and all the day-to-day work that makes a difference to businesses and residents alike.”
The renewed term will see Morecambe BID deliver its Business Plan 2026–2031, ‘Morecambe - Eden of the North’, focused on preparing the town for rising visitor numbers as Eden Project Morecambe develops, making Morecambe a more attractive place to live, work and visit, continued investment in town centre safety, support for markets, festivals and events, and ongoing promotion and lobbying to raise Morecambe’s profile nationally.
Lancaster BID was also re-elected to serve another five-year term, earlier this year.
Read more: City centre businesses vote 'Yes' to Lancaster BID for another five years - Beyond Radio
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