Month: July 2025

Enhanced lifesaving equipment is being installed in Bury St Edmunds town centre in a partnership between the town’s Business Improvement District (BID), Town Council and a local businessman.

The defibrillator placed on the wall of McDonalds on Cornhill has had its outer casing upgraded to the newest type of cabinet which is now also able to house a community bleed kit.  The partnership has opted to include the kit in the new cabinet making it the first one in a 24-hour publicly available emergency unit in the town centre.

Paul Hicklin, from Bury St Edmunds, has – alongside McDonalds – provided some of the funding for the kit and new cabinet through an ink cartridge recycling scheme operated by his Mildenhall-based business Compleat Office Solutions.  Paul said: “For some years I have campaigned and raised funds to increase the number of defibrillators available for public use in memory of my father.  As part of this I also check and maintain them once they are installed. When the cabinet on this one reached an age where it needed replacing and we learned that new ones can also house a bleed kit I was only too pleased to help fund the upgrade – the more opportunities we can provide for ‘by-stander first-aid’ in an emergency the better.”

Ben Legood from McDonalds added: “We are very happy to support this life-saving piece of equipment and this recent upgrade makes it even more valuable in the event of an emergency.  Funding the new defibrillator cabinet is one of the ways we are able to support our local community.”

First aid training is provided free of charge by Our Bury St Edmunds BID to staff from its member businesses.  The BID’s Business Support Manager Mike Kirkham organises the courses which take place at West Suffolk College.  Mike commented: “We will be including the use of community bleed kits as part of our emergency first aid courses because I am sure that as opportunities arise to widen the remit of other defibrillator cabinets, those that have them will take it.

“Putting the kit in with the defibrillator shouldn’t be a cause for concern – but now that they have the space for one, the responsible thing to do is make use of it.  Of course, we hope that – as with the defibrillator – it’s never needed but on the rare occasions that either of them are, we know that they could save a life.”

There are now seven 24-hour publicly available defibrillators in the town centre and a further nine housed within businesses for use during their opening hours.  As part of the work to raise awareness about defibrillators Mike Kirkham has also developed a digital defibrillator champion badge for partner organisations to demonstrate their support.  He added: “We are very grateful to all the businesses that support the defibrillators and to Bury St Edmunds Town Council who have recently funded some ongoing maintenance of them.  This digital badge for their websites or social media is a chance for them to show what an important role they play in their community.”

Defibrillators can be used by anyone, with or without first aid training.  They are fully automated and guide the user through every step of administering defibrillation on a casualty.  With 20% of out of hospital cardiac arrests happening in public places then the availability of a defibrillator and ability to perform CPR is critical. A defibrillator used alongside quality CPR means the odds of survival jump from 6% to 75%.

An activity trail around Bury St Edmunds town centre that commemorated the 80th anniversary of VE Day has been hailed such a success by businesses and participants alike, that a second one marking the anniversary of VJ day will start next week. As with the earlier trail those who find all 10 themed items displayed in local businesses will be entered into a draw with a £100 gift card as the top prize.

The VJ Day 80th Year Commemorative Trail – which starts on Monday July 21 as the school summer holidays get underway will be open to all ages and involves discovering 10 different objects that have a World War II theme. Participating businesses will each display a poster and those who wish to take part in the competition will only need to find each of the 10 different items once.

The trail and competition are organised by Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID). Its Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “When we launched the VE Day 80th Anniversary Trail in the spring, so many businesses wanted to be part of it that it was one of our most successful ever. And this time around, all the opportunities to display an item were snapped up within 24 hours, so I’m delighted that our member businesses are so engaged with these activities.

“Once again, we are offering three Bury St Edmunds Town Centre Gift Cards of £100, £75 and £50 as the prizes. It’s a perfect family activity for the school holidays as it doesn’t need to be completed in one visit and you may discover shops and businesses that you’ve never visited before.”

The entry form for the trail can be downloaded from Ourburystedmunds.com and will also be available in every participating business on the trail. It can also be collected from visitor information points at The Apex, Moyse’s Hall Museum and the Cathedral shop. The competition runs until September 7.

Full details including terms and conditions and how to enter the prize draw can be found on our VJ Day Trail Page.

We’re just a month away from the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival – a great showcase event for Suffolk’s foodie capital.  Once again a number of BID member businesses will be fully involved across the August Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday.  Some will be taking to the stage in the cookery theatre while others will be part of the event with a stall or staying open over the two days to welcome visitors.  And we also have our special guest celebrity chef, the award-winning Ching-He Huang MBE who’ll be cooking with us on the Monday.

Now that the school holidays are underway we have also launched our second history-themed trail. There are prizes of Bury St Edmunds Town Centre Gift Cards to be won for those who correctly find all the items that will be hidden in various businesses across the town centre.  This time commemorating the 80^th anniversary of VJ Day, it follows on from our VE Day anniversary trail.  Our thanks to all the BID businesses who have chosen to participate.  Entry forms can be found on the Our Bury St Edmunds website or at any participating business as well as the visitor information points in the town centre.

You may have seen in the Bury Free Press or elsewhere that we have launched an initiative aimed at helping businesses with customer service skills training.  Our aim is to make Bury a centre of excellence for customer service.  Over the last few years Our Bury St Edmunds has sponsored the customer service award at the Bury Free Press West Suffolk Business Awards and I know first-hand from the entries that they receive that standards are generally very high.  Now we’re looking to make it something the town becomes as well known for as its range of independent shops, quality of food and drink establishments and stunning floral displays.  And talking of those awards they are open now for nominations in 13 categories so do take a look at whether your business could be a contender for one.

It’s not an official award but many media outlets have called Greggs on Abbeygate Street Britain’s ‘prettiest’ Greggs or even ‘poshest’ and it is looking fabulous again now that the scaffolding has come down after two years.  A little further along the road it is good to see PrimaVista open now too.  Sugartown Toys will open in The Traverse this weekend and we welcome these new businesses to our town.

Finally, throughout August a special promenade performance from Theatre Royal takes place in the town centre. ‘Steve & Steff For Ever’ will see the audience follow the characters to key locations as they walk around town.  It’s the first time the town has seen a walking performance like this and I’ve already glimpsed BID member Blend on Abbeygate Street in the online trailer and am looking forward to the full production. 

An initiative aimed at making Bury St Edmunds a centre of excellence for customer service has been launched by the Business Improvement District (BID). Businesses who are members of Our Bury St Edmunds BID will be offered free training opportunities and partner organisations with volunteers or staff who engage with members of the public will also be able to participate.

The idea grew from an inclusivity conference held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral last autumn. It had looked specifically at improving accessibility in the town centre by making positive changes to ensure people with different needs including disabilities, dementia and neurodiversity would always feel welcome.

It inspired Our Bury St Edmunds BID Chief Executive Mark Cordell to look at a wider opportunity for the town centre. He said: “I know that standards of customer service are generally high in the town, but I think they could become exceptional whether they are the big High Street names or the independents who make up almost 60% of the town centre. Offering this training – which is open to all but often especially welcomed by those who don’t have head offices with in-house training courses, seemed a natural progression to aim to make the town centre one of the best for customer service that it can be.

“I started looking at ways that this can be recognised, including discussions with WorldHost who have been involved with customer service skills provision at major events including The Rugby World Cup and The Open. We’re now in a position to offer free training to staff from our member businesses and some of our partner organisations.”

The training opportunities will be open to BID member businesses as well as groups that have volunteers who interact with the public including Bury St Edmunds Tour Guides, St Edmundsbury Cathedral and Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw. West Suffolk Council staff who are based in the town centre will also be eligible.

Our Bury St Edmunds BID is working with Eastern Education Group at West Suffolk College who will provide the customer service training.   Joe Sadler, Employer Engagement Lead with the Group commented:  “Good customer service has never been more important to help businesses stand out and I very much welcome this initiative from the BID.  Eastern Education Group is delighted to partner with the BID to offer this training and the fact that there has been so much interest already is very encouraging.”

Our Bury St Edmunds has, for some years, sponsored the Customer Service Award at the Bury Free Press Business Awards. Mark Cordell added: “Being involved with this award in recent years I’ve seen businesses large and small from the hospitality sector to solicitors and travel agents being recognised and I know that customer service is very important to our businesses. We are already the foodie capital of Suffolk and winner of the country’s most dog-friendly town award, it would be wonderful to be acknowledged as having the best customer service too.”

The training courses start in September and will be offered in person and online. Once the initiative is fully underway, one of the ways of monitoring it’s success will be by ‘mystery shoppers.’