Member Article

It’s all aboard the BID for business

A North East BID initiative has appointed several new board members following a successful election process.

Distinct Darlington, the town centre’s Business Improvement District, is now entering its third year and has welcomed a number of new representatives on board, ensuring every commercial and retail sector is well represented.

Nicola Reading of Bliss Gifts has retained her position as a chair of the Board with Carrie-Ann Brown from Moda in Pelle and Peter Bulmer from Coopers Cafe and the Waterhouse Kitchen jointly taking on the role as vice chair.

Joining the Board for the first time are Paul Taylor-Garthwaite from H. Taylors & Sons, Stephen Valente from Café Valente and Stuart Young from UK Sewing Machines, David Walker from Handlesbanken, John Coxon from Leggs and Natalie Cooper from Houndgate Town House.

Previous Board members who have retained their positions are Councillor Chris McEwan and Ian Williams from Darlington Borough Council, Robin Blair from J.J Blair & Sons with Inspector Mick Button representing the Police and Louise Hardy from Queen Street Shopping Centre as a co-opted member.

In the past year the Distinct Darlington has gone from strength to strength, having put together a whole host of events to drive footfall into the town including the Distinctly Delicious - Darlington Festival of Food, Christmas ice rink and the hugely successful Darlington by the Sea initiative which ended last week.

Alex Hirst, manager of Distinct Darlington said: “it’s great to have the backing of such a strong group of people who are representing a wide cross section of the businesses in the town, from independent and national retailers to commercial enterprises and boutique hotel owners.

“I look forward to working with them throughout the next year and taking on board all the valuable expertise and support they will be able to offer.”

For more information about the BID for Darlington visit www.distinctdarlington.co.uk

Image used under creative commons license. Credit: J Spencer

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