Students help create plan to boost city centre’s economy

Oaklands students are working with the newly formed City Centre Partnership (CCP) to plan for the future of St Albans City centre’s economy.

A group of first year Level 3 Business students are working with the CCP to draw up a business plan, with the goal of St Albans achieving BID (Business Improvement District) status by 2017.

A BID is a defined area where local businesses agree to invest money to manage and enhance their trading environment. This is calculated against the rateable value of the businesses, who will then decide together how to spend the money locally.

The final business plan was presented in a Dragons’ Den type format at the Clydesdale offices in St Albans to key business leaders from Clydesdale Bank, Sherrards Solicitors and Rayner Essex Chartered Accountants.

The students presented ideas including a water slide for Holywell Hill, Zip Wire, Battle of the Bands and many other exciting proposals for the CCP to consider, all with the purpose of attracting more visitors to the city centre.

Co-ordinator for Business & ICT at Oaklands Isabelle Domijan-Bowler, said: “This has been a fantastic experience for our students. Being involved in the plan has given them great hands-on experience which will serve them well in their future careers. We as a college are also delighted that we have been able to contribute to something that will benefit our local community, now and in the future.”

The CCP is a business led partnership of local business owners in the city centre. Its aim is to forge a strong sense of community, look for ways of improving the city centre and encourage a unified approach in finding local solutions to local issues.