2012-04-02 10:55:53

Beeston seeks the help of Mary Portas

Towns up and down the Country have been putting applications together for a slice of a £1 million pound fund available to create "Town Teams" and revive the Nations High Streets. Initiated by Queen of Shops Mary Portas, this fund will be available to 12 successful town centres.

The Beeston BID (Business Improvement District) board decided to put an appplication together with a message that although the tram is coming to the town, its is still "Business as usual" in Beeston.

Stephanie Wilkinson BID Manager said " It is really important that people understand that although the tram is being built, it doesnt mean that Beeston is shutting down. Many businesses, especially those on Chilwell Road are keen to get this message across and we thought that applying for this funding would help us to do that. There are lots of businesses in this town that are passionate about what they do and we want to keep it that way".

Projects include a hanging basket scheme, bespoke business training, a large "Business as usual" promotional campaign and a Beeston Smartphone App.

To view the video that was part of the application, please follow this link:

bit.ly/BeestonBidPortasPilotVideo

2012-04-02 10:35:55

BEESTON’S RECORD FOOTFALL AS RETAIL

Christmas 2011 was a challenging one for retailers across the country but those in Beeston saw a record 118,000 people visiting the town centre.

Now, with the official launch of the new town centre touch screens by Beeston BID (Business Improvement District) which help shoppers to locate their favourite stores, it is hoped that the momentum can be maintained as crucial redevelopment begins.

The touch screens, which are the first of their kind in the Midlands, provide an interactive guide to the town centre, featuring local businesses and their offers and will act as a useful guide to help shoppers to navigate around the town, as well asenabling visitors to search for special offers and events.

They also provide an online presence for many businesses via this website www.letsgotobeeston.co.uk which works in tandem with the touch screens and are instantly updated by the Beeston BID team as soon as offers come in from the town's businesses.

The stainless steel touchscreens, normally seen in large shopping centres, have been placed at the busiest points in town, one on Stoney Street and one outside WH Smith and have been in testing mode over the busy festive season to iron out any bugs.

Stephanie Wilkinson, Beeston BID manager said:

"Beeston has such a diverse offering in terms of retailers and we have a huge range of independent shops here but it can be tricky for people that are less familiar with the town to find their way around. The touchscreens are an excellent way of putting those retailers on the map, connecting them to the shoppers in the town and giving them a greater presence."

"We are delighted by the footfall figures for December in what has been and will continue to be challenging trading conditions but we are committed to doing everything we can to help to keep Beeston buzzing. Any business that would like to know more about the touch screens and how best to leverage this exciting opportunity for their business should contact the BID office on 0115 871 2037 or by emailing me on Stephanie@beestonbid.org.

2012-04-02 10:33:56

Beeston goes bananas for Fairtrade visit

Over 60 retailers and residents packed Beeston town hall at the beginning of March to learn more about Fairtrade from St Lucian banana farmer Moses Renee, as he in turn meet Beeston's thriving collection of Fairtrade businesses.

The day was part of the national Fairtrade Fortnight and having met Mayor of Broxtowe Jacky Williams, Moses took a tour of Beeston, visiting Beeston's Fairtrade outlets including:

Iguazu, Out of This World, Metro, The Flying Goose, Sainsbury's, Pot 'n' Kettle, Tesco, The Silver Tree, Co-operative and Belle & Jerome.

Beeston achieved Fairtrade Town status in 2009. The Fairtrade Towns scheme enables whole communities to show their support for the ideas behind Fairtrade, and to promote Fairtrade to local people. The Beeston steering group is made up of local residents and representatives from Broxtowe Borough Council, local businesses, supermarkets, churches and schools. It meets about once a month to plan ways to promote Fairtrade in Beeston.

Stephanie Wilkinson, manager of Beeston BID said:

"We had a great turnout here for the evening event with plenty of people eager to learn more about Fairtrade and how they can help, whether as a business or as a consumer. We have a lot of independent retailers in Beeston, many of which already use Fairtrade products so it was great for them to be able to talk to Moses. Perhaps some of the other businesses and residents will now also be more interested in Fairtrade and if they are we have the skills and resources to help them do just that with the Fairtrade Beeston team."

2012-02-08 16:27:34

Beeston business wins "Employer of the Year" Award

Our very own Cast Hairdressing has been voted "Employer of the year" by the Nottingham Training Network at an awards ceremony at the East Midlands Conference Centre.  Cast is located at 114-116 High Road, Beeston and has been running for nine years. Cathy, Andrew and Suzanne have built up a great customer base and are an important part of the Beeston community.

Congratulations!

For more information about Cast and other businesses within the town, please refer to the Directory section of the website.

2012-01-17 16:08:25

Community Covenant signed in Beeston

Beeston BID (representing businesses in Beeston) has shown its support to the local Armed Forces community by officially signing a Community Covenant pledge alongside representatives from the Broxtowe Borough Council,Broxtowe Borough Partnership, Voluntary Action Broxtowe and the Borough's civilian community.

The signing took place on Monday 9th January 2012 at the Town Hall, Beeston. Brigadier Andrew Williams, Commander 49 (E) Brigade, Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, together with representative from the services in Nottinghamshire and beyond, reciprocated on behalf of the Military.

The Armed Forces Community Covenant is part of a national initiative to promote greater understanding between its local Armed Forces and civilian communities.

It is hoped that the Covenant will provide an opportunity to build upon existing good work and other initiatives in the borough, such as the Heroes Welcome shop discount scheme in Beeston town centre.

2011-12-16 14:24:52

NET on track to run two new tram lines

The project to build lines Two and Three of Nottingham's tram network is going ahead.

Following commercial and financial close and final Government sign-off, the contract has been awarded to Tramlink Nottingham, to take over the operation of the existing tram line (NET Line One) and to build and operate the extended network to Clifton via Wilford and Chilwell via Beeston (NET Phase Two).

A detailed construction programme is now being finalised and the first phase of construction work will start in January 2012. Services on the new lines are planned to start in late 2014.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, the scheme's promoter, says: "After ten years in planning and development, alongside the innovation of the Workplace Parking Levy – our ambitious proposals to add two more lines to our tram network will now be realised.

"This is fantastic news for Nottingham. In these constrained financial and economic times it means a significant boost to the local economy, more jobs and better public transport for thousands of people."

Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP, says: "I am delighted that we are able to finally approve funding so that construction of Phase Two of the tram system can begin.

"Line One of the Nottingham tram has proved to be a great success in encouraging people onto public transport. These extensions provide the opportunity to build on that success, and give people in the south of Nottingham quicker, more convenient access to the city centre as well as providing an alternative means of accessing the city centre for people commuting by car.

"They will also help to regenerate sections of the city and support the Government's wider growth agenda by providing better access to local jobs, and our environmental priority of cutting carbon by encouraging modal shift."

"This good news follows on from the Government's recent announcement to fund the widening of the A453, which will feed into a 1000 space NET Park & Ride site on the edge of Clifton further speeding up people's journeys between the M1 and Nottingham."

The economic benefits the extended network will bring to Nottingham City, the county, and the wider East Midlands region will be to:

• Generate construction work opportunities for local companies and people, as well as stimulating the local economy to generate long term employment growth of up to 8,000 jobs and could boost the local economy by around £390m per year
• Provide access to about 1270 City workplaces, to which about 55,000 employees commute, and a further 600 workplaces in Beeston/Chilwell.
• Serve two of the three biggest employers in Greater Nottingham – The University of Nottingham and the Queens Medical Centre.
• Serve 20 of the 30 largest employers in Greater Nottingham, who will be within 800m of a tram stop.
• Help to create a first class transport interchange (‘the Hub'), at Nottingham Railway Station, which itself is receiving a £67 million redevelopment so that people can interchange between trams, trains, cycling, walking, taxis and cars.

Roger Harrison, Chairman of Tramlink Nottingham said: "We are delighted to be working with the City Council to help bring to fruition Nottingham's ambitious public transport plans. Our consortium, which includes some of the world's leading companies in the light rail and construction sectors, is excited by the prospect of developing the City's tram network and we are committed to providing an effective and efficient system of which the local community can be proud."

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, says: "More than two-thirds of businesses in Nottingham support the extension of the tram network and the Chamber is delighted that the city has now reached this significant milestone, which will see new development and inward investment come to Nottingham, and help employees access key employment sites along the two new lines in 2014."

Councillor Jane Urquhart, continues: "The extension to Nottingham's tram network will reduce social exclusion and reduce congestion on key routes into Nottingham by serving all three Nottingham junctions of the M1."

NET Phase Two will be funded by Nottingham City Council, the Government, and through a combination of tram fare revenue and a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangement over the life of the concession. The Government provides approximately 66% of the estimated £570m (net present value) cost (through the PFI) arrangement, and the remaining 34% coming from Nottingham City Council, mainly through the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). The WPL is a charge on employers based in the city that provide 11 or more car parking places for employees.

2011-12-16 11:32:49

Lucky shopper wins Christmas on Beeston!

Businesses in Beeston made Christmas very special for one lucky shopper in November. Working in partnership with radio station GEM 106, shoppers were asked to find clues around the town centre to be entered into a prize draw worth over £1,000. Many businesses kindly donated to the hamper which included things from a Christmas Tree to a photoshoot.GEM 106 also donated an iPAD 2 to the competition.

Winner Pauline Wootton from Toton was thrilled with her prizes and said that Christmas would be a lot easier this year!