Contact us
Got a question? Take a peek at our FAQ's below or get in touch with the Brilliant Brighton BID team using the contact details listed.
FAQs
Brilliant Brighton (also known as Brighton Business Improvement District or BID for short) is a not-for-profit organisation formed of 517 businesses including shops, salons, bars, cafes and restaurants within Brighton city centre, who contribute and come together to make Brilliant Brighton a fantastic place to work, live and visit.
A BID is a defined geographical area which involves all businesses located within it. Traders join together to fund improvements to their trading environment. Every five years, business owners feedback their thoughts on projects they’d like to see delivered, and create a new business plan to be voted on, and if the majority of businesses are in favour of the projects and having a BID, a new BID term starts. The first Brighton BID started in 2006, with successful ballots in 2011, 2016 and 2021. It now includes all businesses in Western Road (from the Clock Tower to Montpelier Road), North Street, Preston Street, East Street, Brighton Place, Market Street, Meeting House Lane, Bond Street, Gardner Street and Kensington Gardens.
Brilliant Brighton is solely funded by the 517 businesses that have formed the not-for-profit organisation. Every business within the Brilliant Brighton BID area contributes an additional 1.5% of their rateable value to deliver projects to make Brighton city centre a safe and welcoming place to live, work and visit.
All businesses in Western Road, North Street, Preston Street, East Street, Brighton Place, Market Street, Meeting House Lane, Bond Street, Gardner Street and Kensington Gardens are automatically Brilliant Brighton BID members, due to their location.
Brilliant Brighton BID delivers:
- Brighton city centre’s Christmas lights (the largest scheme on the south coast)
- Dressing the city centre in the summer with bunting, banners and hanging baskets
- Providing on-street Ambassadors who help make the city centre a safer place to be
- A calendar of events, including window dressing trails and shopping events, and networking opportunities
- Marketing for members via the Brilliant Brighton website and social media platforms
The Brilliant Brighton Ambassadors, provided by Pagoda Security, patrol the BID area every day (bar Christmas Day) 11am-6pm Monday – Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sundays, providing additional security for our businesses and enhancing safety on our city centre streets. Between 6pm and midnight, they also patrol the area in a mobile support unit. BID businesses can contact the Ambassadors directly for assistance. If you are a BID business and require this number, please email: admin@brightonbid.com.
BIDs are location-specific due to the projects provided benefiting the whole street/ locality.
Businesses in Western Road, North Street, Preston Street, East Street, Brighton Place, Market Street, Meeting House Lane, Bond Street, Gardner Street and Kensington Gardens are automatically Brilliant Brighton BID members, due to their location and benefit from our projects.
However, if your business is outside of this area and would like to discuss associate membership, please email: admin@brightonbid.com to find out more.
We love sharing our members’ news, offers and events on the Brilliant Brighton website and on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts. Tell us about yours by sending details and a photo to: admin@brightonbid.com.
The Brilliant Brighton gift card is a gift card, accepted by many of our city centre businesses, to encourage local spend.
Gift cards can be purchased online at www.brightongiftcard.co.uk (you can choose to send the recipient a physical card to carry with them, or a digital card for their digital wallets!).
Cards can also be picked up from locations across the city centre including: Brighton Station’s Information Centre, the Brighton Centre, Brighton & Hove Buses (North St), Virgin Money and Brunswick Fine Wines & Spirits. These cards are blank and can then be topped up from home.
Read more about the gift card here.
The Brilliant Brighton gift card can only be accepted by Brilliant Brighton (BID) businesses and associate members.
Registering to accept the Brighton gift card is easy. You don’t need to install any software or additional hardware and there are no additional costs to accept the gift card, it’s charged at the same rate as a normal MasterCard debit card transaction.
If you are a member and would like the sign up link, please email: admin@brightonbid.com.
Yes. A BID levy is mandatory for all businesses (and landlords, if properties become vacant) within the defined area, following a successful vote.
Brilliant Brighton BID is a business-led organisation which is privately funded by the 517 city centre businesses it’s made up of, and not funded by Brighton & Hove City Council. However, we work with the local authority closely to deliver our projects and to feedback on consultations on behalf of members. The local authority also collects BID levy payments, in alignment with legislation.
Brilliant Brighton, in partnership with BHCC, ran a pilot pop-up shop scheme to utilise empty properties. This has now come to an end.
Based on the findings of this project BHCC commissioned a new meanwhile use toolkit. The toolkit provides tips and hints on finding a space, legal agreements, costs and how to get the most out of taking on a meanwhile use space.
These resources are free to access as part of the Brighton & Hove ABCD Cultural Recovery Plan:
Brilliant Brighton dresses the city in the summer and commissions artists to create banners on Western Road, North Street and Preston Street. Be sure to check out the news section and our Instagram to see any available opportunities.
For other art project opportunities in the city, please visit cultureinourcity.com.