About Brilliant Brighton
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.
Projects Brilliant Brighton 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
- Marketing for members via the Brilliant Brighton website and social media platforms
The BID Ambassadors play an important role within the service the BID (also known as Brilliant Brighton) offers.
Each day, the four Ambassadors on duty support our 517 businesses by offering security and friendly faces to report any issues to.
Regularly liaising with a range of council departments, the BID Ambassadors help to improve and influence the attractiveness of the BID area – be that by putting in a call to City Clean to see if they can assist in the removal of graffiti to alerting the appropriate team that a street light needs repairing, fly tipping has occurred or if there is evidence of illegal street trading taking place.
The Ambassadors are here to support our businesses however they can and are on-hand to assist with crime or any other antisocial behaviour. They can also help businesses to report an offence directly to the police.
As well as direct support and regular visits to BID businesses, our Ambassadors help the public to signpost them to stores and attractions – further making Brighton a welcoming city to visit.
If you are a BID business and would like to get contact information for our Ambassadors, please email: admin@brightonbid.com. If you require urgent assistance, please call 999 or 101.
Brilliant Brighton BID’s board of directors are all members of Brighton’s business community, who come together to shape the projects we deliver.
Matt Bristow, Homesense (Chair)
Mark Buchanan-Smith, Churchill Square
Gary Fitzharris, Marks and Spencer
Paul Amos, HSBC
Kellie Miller, Kellie Miller Arts
Luke Taylor-Sales, Brighton & Hove Buses
Jo Spooner, Barclays