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From independent businesses and the evening economy to perceptions of the city centre, Colchester BID Manager Vinnie Geaves has plenty to say about the place he has always called home.
Vinnie is Colchester-born and bred. He went to St Teresa’s and St Benedict’s schools before studying at Colchester Sixth Form College and Colchester Institute, and has worked for a number of local businesses, mainly in the leisure industry.
After a period working in law enforcement, he returned to working in the city five years ago. Since 2024, he has been manager of Colchester Business Improvement District, better known as Colchester BID.
What Colchester BID does
Colchester BID is increasingly visible around the city, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone knows what it is.
A Business Improvement District brings businesses within a defined area together to invest in improving and promoting the place in which they operate.
Colchester BID now has more than 500 levy-paying businesses, with contributions based on the rateable value of their premises. Its current five-year business plan runs until 2028.
Vinnie describes its purpose as “placemaking”.
“It’s about activating a city,” he says. “Making sure it’s attractive, it’s clean, it’s got a superb offering, it’s safe.”
Vinnie joined the BID in October 2022 in a business crime liaison role, initially working on retail theft and the evening and night-time economy.
That brought him into projects including Purple Flag, the national accreditation for town and city centres at night, and Best Bar None, which works with licensed premises around safety and operating standards.
Colchester has recently retained its Purple Flag status for a fourth year.
When Vinnie became BID Manager, he spent his first few months looking at where Colchester stood compared with neighbouring towns and cities.
One thing quickly stood out.
“For me, the biggest key was the marketing of the city,” he says. “What do we actually promote?”
The BID appointed a new marketing agency, and Vinnie was struck by the reaction of people coming to Colchester with fresh eyes.
“We didn’t realise this happened in Colchester,” was something he kept hearing.
For Vinnie, it reinforced the need to promote the city more widely. But it also raises a question we return to during our conversation: why, when so much is happening and being talked about, does the perception of Colchester sometimes seem so different?
The perception of Colchester
It’s something Vinnie and I spend some time discussing.
Through Keep Colchester Cool, I see a constant stream of music, events, new businesses, food and culture, while also regularly seeing comments from people who say nothing is happening or that they no longer come into Colchester.
Vinnie sees the same contradiction.
“I think there’s a massive gap,” he says.
It isn’t confined to one subject. He sees it in perceptions of transport and crime, but also around music and live entertainment.
Neither of us can easily explain where that perception comes from. Social media undoubtedly gives negative views somewhere to gather momentum, but that doesn’t necessarily make them representative of people’s experience of the city.
For Vinnie, the answer isn’t simply to dismiss the criticism.
“Let’s listen to the noise around it,” he says, “and let’s establish if there’s actually any realisation of this.”
He would like the BID to survey residents more, rather than relying so heavily on other organisations for that information.
Vinnie hears plenty from businesses about the practical side of the city centre too, from cleanliness and parking to public transport and other infrastructure.
But ask him what Colchester does particularly well, and he immediately turns to its mix of national names and independents.
“You can still get to the nooks and crannies, onto our independent routes, all the way from Crouch Street, all the way down to Isaac’s Walk, into Eld Lane,” he says.
That leads us into something we return to several times. Colchester doesn’t have to choose between national retailers and independents. Part of its strength is having both.
Later, Vinnie describes the relationship as an “ecosystem”. National retailers bring people into the city who may also visit an independent cafe, shop or venue, while the independents give Colchester much of its individual character.
We also talk about the reaction when a national retailer closes. Vinnie points out that these decisions are often made as part of a company’s wider national strategy rather than being a reflection of Colchester itself.
What remains important, he argues, is maintaining the mix of businesses and experiences that gives people reasons to come into the city.
Supporting independent businesses
Our conversation about independents raises another question: whether businesses always know what help is available to them.
I’ve seen businesses make good use of the BID, but I suggest to Vinnie that plenty also don’t take advantage of everything on offer because they’re busy with the day-to-day work of running a business.
He agrees, using a gym membership as an analogy.
“If I pay for my gym membership, I should go, and I get the best out of it,” he says. “That’s the only way it works.”
But he accepts that the responsibility can’t all sit with the business. Part of the BID’s business ambassadors’ job is to keep talking to businesses and encourage them to get involved.
We also talk about the smaller independents which don’t automatically pay into the BID.
The BID’s funding structure means not every business automatically pays into it, something Vinnie acknowledges can create the appearance of a two-tier organisation.
“Just by the nature of the BID and rateable value, we’ve created a two-tier BID, and it looks very exclusive for those who can contribute and who can’t,” he says.
“But we don’t ignore our independents. They are important because they have really good, valid feedback.”
The support can be very practical.
Vinnie gives examples ranging from helping resolve problems with waste collections to guiding a new business through correspondence it has received. When several businesses share concerns about something such as parking or infrastructure, the BID can also add the collective business voice to the discussion.
It also works with organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Essex Business Growth Agency, directing businesses to mentoring and other support where appropriate.
Businesses which don’t automatically pay the BID levy can become a Friend of the BID and receive the same support and promotional opportunities.
Our discussion then moves beyond membership to the geography of the BID itself. Vinnie reveals that its boundaries could change.
He is carrying out feasibility work ahead of the next BID term, looking at possible extensions including North Station Road and the area around Leisure World and Charter Hall.
Education establishments are excluded under the current arrangements, and Vinnie also raises the possibility of including organisations such as Colchester Institute and Colchester Sixth Form College in future.
Nothing has been decided. Questions remain about whether businesses in an expanded area would benefit and where any new boundary should sit. It also raises the question of where the city centre now begins and ends.
The next BID ballot is due in 2028.
Culture and the evening economy
We also spend some time talking about music, culture and the evening economy.
Vinnie describes the evening and night-time economy as “absolutely paramount”.
As traditional retail has changed, he believes experiences have become increasingly important in giving people a reason to visit towns and cities.
That doesn’t just mean pubs, bars and restaurants.
“We’ve got to protect what we’ve got,” he says. “It’s about bringing back local talent, mentoring, coaching and getting these people in front of crowds, because people love entertainment. Whether that is music, poetry, theatre, dance, whatever it is, you’ve got to keep that going.”
We talk about how the night-time economy itself is changing.
Colchester still has late-night venues, but Vinnie sees increasing importance in the period between 7pm and 10pm, particularly among people aged over 35.
It ties into something we’ve both been discussing throughout the interview. The reason for coming into a city centre is no longer simply shopping.
It might be a meal, a gig, a haircut, a coffee, a tattoo, theatre or meeting friends. More often, it’s a combination of them.
And that is where Vinnie’s description of the city-centre “ecosystem” makes sense.
One business doesn’t have to provide the whole reason for visiting Colchester. It needs to be part of a city that gives people enough reasons to come in and stay.
Vinnie believes the evening and night-time economy is one area where the BID has made a big difference.
He talks about protecting what Colchester already has, supporting venues with training and accreditation and promoting what is happening in the city.
There is also a wider network behind it. Andy Starr sits on the BID board and chairs Colchester Pubwatch, giving the hospitality sector a direct voice within the organisation.
For Vinnie, supporting the evening economy and championing independents go hand in hand.
Celebrating Colchester businesses
Our conversation ends with the Colchester Business Awards, which take place this week, on Thursday 8th October.
For Vinnie, the awards are a chance to show businesses how much the people who use them value what they do.
This year almost every category has been decided by public vote. More than 13,000 people have taken part, compared with just under 6,000 at the previous awards two years ago.
That increase has been accompanied by people voting across several categories rather than simply turning up to support one particular business.
I’ve noticed something else during the voting period: businesses have been genuinely proud to share the fact that they were nominated.
For Vinnie, that’s part of the point.
Even for those that don’t win, he wants businesses to see the comments and support of the people who nominated and voted for them.
“The night itself will be a massive celebration,” he says.
And there is plenty to celebrate. Colchester has national names and independents, restaurants and pubs, professional services, music, entertainment and culture, all contributing to a city centre with plenty going on.
