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Huntingdonshire District Council have used their local address dataset in a project that has secured almost £1 million of investment over five years for local businesses.
Through the establishment of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Huntingdon, one of four market towns in Huntingdonshire, in addition to the investment, footfall has increased, business performance improved and the town has been made more attractive, safer, cleaner and busier.
BIDs act as business partnerships between businesses, local authorities and other organisations, and were created to develop projects and services that will benefit the trading environment within the boundary of a clearly defined geographic commercial area.
This geographical area was determined through the use of the council's local address dataset and its synchronisation to a list of properties paying business rates. Through this work, the BID Huntingdon Manager and the council's Economic Development and Business Rates Managers were able to precisely identify the final geographical BID area and all commercial properties within it.
It was these eligible businesses, identified through the local address dataset, that now provide five years of sustainable funding, allowing Huntingdon businesses to control a significant pot of levy income each year, spent by the businesses for the benefit of business.
LLPG Manager at Huntingdonshire District Council, David Lloyd said, "With Huntingdon Town Centre facing increased competition as a retail and leisure destination, particularly from local towns, out-of-town retail parks and online shopping, the BIDs were recognised as a winning way to fund and manage additional projects in the town, projects that are over and above those that the public sector has to deliver."
"This project demonstrates localism in action - businesses working to help themselves against the backdrop of a very difficult economic and financial climate."
To find out more about local address datasets, visit www.geoplace.co.uk
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GeoPlace
GeoPlace is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey. GeoPlace's role is to create and maintain the National Address Gazetteer and the National Street Gazetteer for England and Wales, providing definitive sources of publicly-owned spatial address and street data for Great Britain.
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