Bury Free Press BID Column January 2025
It’s been a very positive start to 2025 for our town centre with a number of new businesses opening and several more in the pipeline soon. Steak restaurant Meat and Greet in Whiting Street, hair salon Toni Saade in Churchgate Street and C&S café in Risbygate Street have all recently opened and we welcome their investment in our historic town. And The Hestia Clinic will soon complete their move into the former Mings premises. Together with other businesses planning to open, this has pushed the rate of vacant units down to under 8% from 8.5% in October which is considerably lower than the national figure.
In addition to new businesses Our Bury St Edmunds BID reported more good news with our footfall figures for December recently, with the town being busier at that time of year than it’s been for more than a decade. Bury St Edmunds saw a higher increase than the national average for footfall figures too. And our research commissioned around mobile phone data in the town centre suggests people are spending more time here than previously when they visit.
We do know that there are still challenges though, which is why we work hard to bring benefits for our member businesses. Our new calendar of free training courses is open and includes Emergency First Aid at Work and Fire Marshal – please visit our website for the full list and details of how to book. Retail crime is another challenge that affects many businesses and I attended the first meeting of the local retail crime working group recently in which we looked at a digital information exchange system between businesses and the police.
Christmas may seem a long time ago now, but preparations for the festive season for 2025 have already started to ensure that at such an important time of year there are plenty of reasons for people to come into town. Here at the BID, we are working with partners who include the Cathedral, Theatre Royal, arc Shopping Centre and Bury St Edmunds Town Council to co-ordinate events and activities for all.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – there’s lots to look forward to in February with the return of the Bury St Edmunds Comedy Festival. The Apex, Theatre Royal, Abbeygate Cinema, The Hunter Club and other venues have been instrumental in making this happen, supported by Bury St Edmunds and Beyond. John Culshaw and Matt Forde are just two of the big names to look forward to.
Finally, if you were given an Our Bury St Edmunds Gift Card for Christmas and haven’t found something to spend it on yet – Valentines Day is just around the corner and with around 80 businesses accepting the card it can be used towards a romantic night out, a special gift for a loved one or a treat just for you. Details of all the places that accept it are at www.ourburystedmunds.com.
