Norwich BID Term 3

Norwich Wine Week has continued to evolve while remaining true to its core purpose: supporting city centre hospitality businesses and celebrating the region’s growing wine culture during English Wine Week. From showcase events and special offers to the Norwich Wine Week Festival held in Chapelfield Gardens in 2024, the programme has grown in ambition while maintaining a clear focus on driving footfall, supporting businesses and showcasing the very best of local wine.

In 2025, Norwich BID welcomed Norwich Cocktail Week into our family of city-wide events, introducing a fresh new look and an expanded programme of offers and experiences. The initiative brings together independent bars, stylish restaurants and hospitality venues across the city, serving up discounted signature cocktails, creative mocktails and memorable events.

First impressions matter. Our Norwich City Hosts provide practical support, local knowledge and a friendly face for tens of thousands of visitors every year. Their role extends far beyond providing directions; they help shape perceptions of Norwich as a welcoming, confident and visitor-friendly city.

A vibrant city centre depends on reasons to visit beyond shopping alone. Norwich Summer Sessions transforms public spaces with free live music and street performance, creating moments of discovery that encourage thousands of people to spend longer in the city and support local businesses. By animating the streets, we help create the atmosphere that makes Norwich feel alive.

Our city trails turn Norwich into a giant interactive adventure. Designed to encourage exploration, they guide families through different parts of the city centre, helping participants discover attractions and hidden gems while creating memorable experiences that strengthen connections with the city.

The Norwich Book benches form a trail around the city encouraging people to visit locations that may be new to them, and the suggested route starts in Gentleman’s Walk and runs to Rampant Horse Street, Rouen Road, Riverside, St-Martin-of-Palace-Plain, St George’s Street finishing in Upper St Giles Street. Each bench gives you the opportunity to stop and take a moment, watch people walk by, read a book, enjoying the historical elements of the city whilst learning and enhancing our knowledge of the great writers with Norwich connections.

A successful city centre must also be a safe one. Our Gold Standard, nationally accredited, ALERT scheme gives over 150 businesses access to real-time intelligence, helping them respond more effectively to crime and anti-social behaviour. Combined with partnership working and our annual Business Crime Conference, it forms a vital part of Norwich’s collective resilience.

Winning the national campaign to bring Paddington to Norwich demonstrated what can be achieved when a city comes together behind a shared ambition. Now located at Norwich Cathedral, our Paddington statue has quickly become a much-loved attraction, drawing regular visitors, generating positive publicity, and creating new reasons to explore the city.

A great night out starts with feeling safe. Our Good Night Norwich campaign promotes awareness, encourages positive behaviours and helps people navigate the city responsibly after dark. By working alongside businesses and partners, the campaign supports a safer and more welcoming evening economy.

For many people, the festive lights are the moment that Christmas begins. Norwich BID’s investment ensures that the city-wide lighting scheme can continue each year, creating an important sense of occasion, pride and anticipation while supporting the critical trading period that many businesses depend upon.

People cannot choose a destination they do not know about. Our campaigns build awareness, challenge perceptions and position Norwich as one of the UK’s most distinctive destinations, contributing to a larger ambition: ensuring Norwich earns a place on more travel shortlists. This approach has received multiple national accolades, including a win at the Travel Marketing Awards, while helping to strengthen Norwich’s national profile.

For many visitors, VisitNorwich is their first interaction with the city. Acting as Norwich’s digital gateway, the platform connects people with everything the city has to offer while inspiring future visits. More than 2.2 million users have engaged with the website during the current BID term, helping turn interest into real-world economic impact.

With more than 225,000 copies distributed each year, the official city map remains one of the most important visitor tools in Norwich. It helps people confidently navigate the city centre while driving footfall across all districts, ensuring visitors discover more businesses, attractions and experiences during their stay.

The Norwich Solar System represents a bold vision for the future of city-centre energy. Recognised as a finalist in the ‘Clean and Green’ Awards and winner of the Association of Town & City Management (ATCM) Best Climate Action Scheme award, the project brings businesses together within a shared local energy network to reduce costs, increase sustainability and position Norwich at the forefront of urban energy innovation.

Every pound of external funding secured helps deliver even greater value from the BID levy. Since the start of the current BID term, we have brought £2.3 million of additional investment into Norwich. By identifying opportunities, developing partnerships and securing new funding, we help deliver projects, initiatives and improvements that might not otherwise be possible.

Strong economies are built on strong relationships. Through regular events and engagement programmes, we create opportunities for businesses to connect, collaborate and influence the future direction of the city. Just as importantly, these conversations ensure Norwich BID remains informed by the needs of the businesses that it represents.

Each year, more than 96 tonnes of singleuse plastic is estimated to be produced by Norwich businesses. We created the Norwich
Buyers Club in partnership with Surplush so that local businesses can save money on crucial supplies that they depend upon daily, such as kitchen roll, sanitising spray and other auxiliary products. From eco-friendly cups and cutlery to sustainable cleaning solutions and beyond, the product selection is carefully chosen for its sustainability credentials, quality, and positive impact on the environment.

Norwich Street Aid is a project created by Norwich BID in response to the business community’s concerns about the number of people rough sleeping on the city’s streets. Set up in partnership with Norfolk Community Foundation and Pathways (including St Martin’s Housing Trust and The Feed), Norwich Street Aid works collaboratively to raise and distribute funds. The project raises funds that could be applied for directly by keyworkers on behalf of those who needed it. These funds are used to help individuals acquire what they needed most, such as a mobile phone, clothing, household items, or support to reconnect with family members.

A thriving city depends on people being able to access and navigate it easily. Through partnerships with organisations such as Beryl and EIT Urban Mobility, alongside advocacy and sustainable travel initiatives, we work to improve connectivity and reduce barriers to movement. We have established the Norwich Urban Mobility Group, bringing together transport operators and key stakeholders to identify challenges and develop projects that improve connectivity across the city. Together, these efforts help make Norwich more accessible, more sustainable and better connected for the future.

Business and events tourism have the potential to generate significant economic benefits for Norwich. Through an 18-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the University of East Anglia, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), we are exploring opportunities to strengthen the city’s business events offer. This includes assessing the viability of a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and a dedicated conference centre, helping create the infrastructure and strategic framework needed to attract more conferences, events and investment to Norwich.