Bath Business Improvement District (BID) has appointed Allison Herbert as its communications & commercial manager – a newly created role in which she will ensure it continues to develop and support projects and create new opportunities for its members.
Allison, pictured, has extensive private and public sector experience having worked for Mendip District and Somerset County councils and more recently at Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) as part of its Bath Quays team. 
While at B&NES she created the Marketing Bath group that encourages organisations in the city to work together for mutual benefit.
She has set up a number of organisations, including the Artisan Market in Frome, which has become the hugely successful Frome Independent Market.
She also has experience of running businesses, among them Love-Local.com, an online retailer specialising in locally produced products. As a freelance project manager she created events ranging from celebrity fundraising black tie dinners to business conferences and has managed a huge variety of projects.
Bath BID chief executive Louise Prynne said: “This new position has been created to help us move the BID forward and to re-enforce our communications and commercial capability.
“The BID has a strong reputation for keeping the city safe and clean and for the award-winning work of our Rangers. As we move into our second term, the BID needs to keep doing what it does well, while developing new services and support to enable businesses in Bath to succeed.
“Allison’s skill set will enable the BID to move forward and complement the skills of the team to enable us to extend existing partnerships and develop new partnerships that will benefit levy payers.
“As an enthusiastic collaborator, Allison clearly understands the landscape the BID operates in, and is ideal fit for the role.
“Alison’s experience of both the public and private sectors will be crucial in helping the BID to create more exciting projects in support Bath BID levy payers, and achieving the results they need for their businesses and the city as a whole.”
Bath BID raises money from businesses in the city centre through a levy based on their premises’ rateable value. It has staged initiatives such as Bath in Fashion and The Great Bath Feast, which attract sponsorship and bring in money from ticket sales. It also operates the city’s night marshal and taxi marshal schemes.
It was launched in 2011 and in 2015 a ballot among its 655 members extended it for a further five years.
Earlier this year it became a strategic corporate partner of The Bath Festival, supporting the city-wide celebration and helping develop the new flagship festival for Bath.
