Chapter 3 would see LeedsBID continue its hard work, making the city a better place for all.
Since LeedsBID was established back in 2015, the city has gone from strength to strength. We now have seven major shopping centres, there are build-to-rent developments popping up all over, and we’ve even seen government departments relocating to Leeds. Every five years businesses are given the opportunity to influence the strategic direction of the BID, and here’s what LeedsBID has proposed.
LeedsBID exists to make the city a better place for everyone
LeedsBID is a non-profit, non-political organisation with one clear goal – to make Leeds city centre better for everyone. It’s been serving up brilliant ideas for 10 years now, funded by the BID levy, which is paid by businesses across the city.
BID stands for ‘Business Improvement District’, and that’s exactly what it does. From cleaning the city’s streets and providing meeting spaces for levy-paying businesses, to introducing Leeds International Festival of Ideas and delivering countless activations to animate the city, its work goes a long way.
Representing over 700 businesses across the city centre, LeedsBID works in five-year tenures, and between Friday 11th October and Thursday 7th November 2024, levy paying businesses will vote on LeedsBID’s proposals for its third term. The BID has outlined this third term as ‘Chapter 3’.
Making sure the city is clean, safe and friendly

Credit: Tom Martin
So, what’s in store for the next five years? The Chapter 3 plan stretches across three key pillars – welcoming, inspirational and ambitious. Should LeedsBID be successful in its campaign, it’ll deliver an investment of £18 million to the city centre, helping it bring its manifesto to life.
In order to ensure Leeds is a welcoming city that’s clean, safe and friendly, LeedsBID will be expanding its brilliant Street Ranger team, using green and hybrid technology to keep the streets tidy. What’s more, it’s working with Business Against Crime in Leeds, West Yorks Police and LCC (Safer Leeds) to combat city centre crime and anti-social behaviour.
There are also plans to build on previous initiatives and the initial success of the pilot trial of a city centre response team, providing a coordinated visible on-street presence with a focus on supporting businesses and making sure the city centre is both safe and welcoming.
Delivering inspirational events and animations

Credit: Tom Martin
Creating inspirational events and animations helps drive footfall to the city and places Leeds firmly on the map. LeedsBID has a glittering history of conceptualising and establishing memorable events, from offering fun and accessible activities for families, to physically enhancing the city’s colour and personality.
Over the past 10 years, LeedsBID has brought a board game to life in the form of the MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover, installed giant dinosaurs across the city and animated the iconic Queens Hotel with a little help from Celia Imrie CBE (and the Gingerbread Man). It’s also created and established an international-scale festival, with LIFI soon to be in its 8th iteration.
These activations not only appeal to the people of Leeds, but they also attract visitors and gain national and international recognition for our brilliant city. Details of future plans are currently under wraps, but you can expect a show-stopping Christmas installation, the continued success of LIFI and many more exciting events at key calendar moments.
Being ambitious to drive constant improvements

Credit: Gary Butterfield
Through all this, LeedsBID continues to be ambitious, working on new initiatives to set Leeds apart from other cities. This ambition is demonstrated in new plans to expand the boundary of the BID area to include areas south of the river, as well as the river and waterways themselves.
As an organisation, LeedsBID is committed to helping the city meet ambitious sustainability targets, using fully electric vehicles for its Street Ranger and Welcome to Leeds vehicles, as well as one fitted with solar panels – the first of its kind across all the UK BIDs.
Andrew Cooper, LeedsBID Chief Executive, said: “With a decade of delivery, our mission is a simple one; to work collaboratively for the collective good in driving change and investing the BID levy back into Leeds city centre to continue to improve Leeds for all. Improvement is the middle initial and is the measure of our success.”