Business improvement districts in town and city centres in the UK

Abstract

Within town and city centres in the UK the challenges of managing public spaces, concerns about crime, the fear of crime, anti‐social behaviour and environmental problems and the desire to maintain and enhance vitality and viability are important and interlinked issues. During the past two decades a number of policy and management initiatives have been introduced in an attempt to address these issues and to promote sustainable town and city centres. Town Centre Management (TCM) schemes, for example, were established in a growing number of towns and cities from late 1980 onwards (e.g. Jones 1990). The basic aim ofTCM has been to regenerate, sustain and develop the well being and to manage the potential of town and city centres by encouraging stakeholders and local businesses to work together in purposeful partnerships to ensure the co‐ordination and development of services. There are a number of variations in the structure and funding regimes of the 250 or so TCM schemes across the UK but they generally involve some kind of public sector/private sector partnership and funding, albeit in varying proportions, a focus on a particular area and co‐ordinated management.