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Tuesday, December 02, 2008, 16:32
The Bath Independent Guest House Association (BIGHA) has taken a seat on a think tank to spearhead improvements in services from signs to street cleaning.
It will be part of the City Centre Management Partnership Board of Future Bath Plus, a company created with public and private funding to employ a city centre manager, improve public areas and increase the profile of tourism and festivals.
BIGHA represents more than 100 small businesses and more than 60 per cent of accommodation in Bath.
The group will now have a seat on the board alongside the developers of Bath's £360 million SouthGate scheme, Multi Development, Marks & Spencer, the St John's Hospital Trust, Wessex Water, The Podium Shopping Centre, Milsom Place, the Federation of Bath Residents' Associations, Bath Chamber of Commerce and the Initiative for B&NES, Bath and District Business Crime Reduction Partnership, Avon and Somerset Police and Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Bath Chronicle parent company Bath News & Media's managing director Sarah Irvine also sits on the partnership board.
BIGHA spokesman Leslie Redwood has run a guest house in Pulteney Gardens for two years and said he felt it was vital for the group to be involved.
He said: "We can already see progress being made by the City Centre Management Partnership Board and we are making this commitment to ensure a continuous improvement for Bath.
"We are all working together to make Bath the world-class city we all hope for. We would urge others to support this initiative."
Mr Redwood said BIGHA had already made a financial contribution to FBP programmes to improve public areas, such as sponsoring a travel guide for the city centre.
The board has already pioneered schemes to educate Bath's street cleaners as mobile tourist information guides, and introduced machines to tackle chewing gum and discarded cigarette ends.
The board meets once a month and is chaired by Multi development manager Jon Munce.
City centre manager Andrew Cooper said: "The aim of establishing the partnership is to bring together all those who rely on the city centre for their own economic prosperity to work as a group to make tangible improvements.
"We're delighted to have the independent guest house sector represented because they are an important part of the local economy."
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