Newbury BID to host Dino Day this Half Term

Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) will keep the little ones entertained this Half Term as it hosts a ‘roarsome’ Dino Day on the 16th of February, packed with fun activities for Newbury kids.

This free dinosaur day event, organised by Newbury BID, the not-for-profit organisation behind the Visit Newbury brand, will undoubtedly draw in the crowds in Newbury Town Centre, offering three jam-packed hours of fun and entertainment. Not only will the event include arts and crafts activities for children, but it will feature a T. Rex fighting an Ankylosaurus alongside amazing music and sound effects to immerse the whole family to participate in 45-minute long workshops.

The successful event returns for 2022 and Newbury BID invite you to join the festivities! 

We’re delighted to announce that the annual Christmas Lights Switch-On event will be returning for 2022 on Saturday 19th November. 
Last year’s event, which took place on Saturday 20th November, resulted in one of the busiest days for Newbury Town Centre in nearly three years, with total footfall of nearly 35,000 recorded (about twice the seating capacity of Madison Square Garden!). 

This year, local families and residents are invited to come and spend the day in Newbury Town Centre for a whole host of festive fun between 10am and 6pm.  

The event, organised by Newbury BID and supported by Newbury Town Council, will be a celebration of local talent, as visitors can expect to see live music and entertainment dotted around at key locations across the town centre, a Christmas Market along Northbrook Street, Santa’s Grotto at Parkway Shopping, children’s fairground rides, and a selection of free family-friendly activities (TBC) at various town centre venues. 

Additionally, classic children’s Christmas characters will be attending the event to offer personal meet and greets and photo opportunities for families. Last year’s sessions with novelty characters, including a Frozen princess and the Green Grinch, were arguably the most popular activity to take place throughout the event, with Newbury’s oldest store, Barry Forkin-Toomers, claiming they had never seen their store as busy as when the characters joined them in-store.  

We are confident that the event will continue to help enhance Newbury’s festive offering and put Newbury on the map as a leading Christmas destination in the South East, strengthened by the presence of another Victorian Christmas Fayre delivered in partnership with market operators, LSD Promotions, and by Newbury Racecourse’s pilot Christmas Carnival event, in partnership with Underbelly Events, due to take place from late November to early January 2023. 

We’re inviting the best local stallholders, choirs, talent, and entertainment to join them for the event, set to be one of the biggest in the town this year. Applicants are asked to express their interest or apply online on our website by clicking here.

Alison Drummond, our Operations Manager, states: 

Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), the not-for-profit organisation behind the Visit Newbury brand, is backing the Business SOS campaign, alongside other BID partners across the UK.

Together, we’re calling on the Government to support our retail, hospitality and leisure businesses so they have every chance to survive following the rise in energy costs. 

To read the full press release, which includes our official statement and quotes from all other BIDs supporting the cause, please click here.

Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), the not-for-profit organisation behind the Visit Newbury brand, is deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the Royal family at this time.

We would like to share the following press release by West Berkshire Council with their official statement from Chairman, Councillor Rick Jones, to commemorate the death of Her Majesty the Queen. 

To read the statement, please click here.

Save the date for the first themed event of its kind for the town

Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) is delighted to confirm that a three-day Victorian Christmas Fayre will be coming to Newbury this year as part of an enhanced festive offering for the town.

Taking place across the first weekend of December, the fayre is set to include a wide range of market stalls with traders dressed head-to-toe in typical Victorian attire, alongside Victorian-themed roving performers, a Victorian carousel, live music and entertainment and, of course, Father Christmas, helping to make this a truly unforgettable event for Newbury.

The event will take place between 10am and 8pm on Friday 3^rd and Saturday 4^th December, with an earlier finish time of 5pm on the final day of the event on Sunday 5^th  December.

The team at Newbury BID, the not-for-profit organisation behind the Visit Newbury brand, are confident the event will attract visitors from near and far. The event is being delivered in partnership with LSD Promotions, who are not only the  operators of Newbury’s Artisan Market and upcoming Food and Drink Festival, but are also responsible for Stratford-upon-Avon’s hugely popular annual Victorian Christmas Fayre, which draws in more than 120,000 visitors in an average year.

It’s no surprise, given the circumstances surrounding last year’s Christmas, that Newbury BID is so keen to host something extra special for the town.

As Christmas approached last year, Berkshire was placed into Tier 4 of the Government’s local lockdown system, in an attempt to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Newbury –along with the rest of the county- was subject to the toughest restrictions of all tiers, as a clear ‘Stay at Home’ message took effect from 19^th December 2020.

While there were many limitations surrounding activities the BID could put on for the town during the festive period, a range of Covid-safe mini ‘events’ were delivered in Newbury last year, including the successful Virtual Christmas Lights Switch-On and Christmas Trail, both of which aligned with the BID’s wider ‘Tis the Season to Shop Local message.

The upcoming Victorian Christmas Fayre would not be possible if it weren’t for the assistance of some of the town centre’s key stakeholders. Newbury BID would like to thank Newbury Town Council for working in partnership with them to secure the fayre, which will operate alongside their weekly Charter Market on the Saturday of the three-day event. West Berkshire Council have awarded funding to Newbury BID via the Government’s Welcome Back Fund to enhance and promote the “Christmas in Newbury” offer, for which the BID is extremely grateful. Thanks also go to the Corn Exchange for agreeing to accommodate a section of the market in front of their venue during their busy pantomime season.

We’re inviting any traders who would be interested in having a stall at the event to get in touch with market operators, LSD Promotions, by clicking here.

Don’t miss the Newbury Vegan Market summer special this August!

On Sunday 21st August, we will be delivering the Newbury Vegan Market summer special in partnership with market operators, Vegan Fairs Ltd. 

The seasonal event is free for visitors to attend and will take place in the Market Place between the hours of 10am and 3pm.  

Taking place once a quarter, the highly anticipated market brings in vegan (and vegan-curious) visitors from regions near and far to enjoy all things plant-based, eco-friendly, and cruelty-free.  

This summer special market will bring popular ethical and vegan brands to Newbury alongside a list of new and exciting traders including The Vegan Diner – offering authentic American recipes turned vegan, artisan vegan cheese stall Sophie’s Delight, sweet and savoury bakes from The Witches Kitchen, and gourmet vegan dining from Viva!  

There’s a notable buzz around Newbury as local residents and visitors take advantage of the new and exciting business ventures cropping up in the town centre.  

Floral Beauts becomes the latest retailer to arrive in Newbury with its beautifully decorated store laden with pampas grass, dried flowers, and fresh flower arrangements on Northbrook Street, close to Newbury’s iconic Clock House. 

The opening of this independently-owned flower shop follows a triple-whammy of new openings for Newbury in June as Fit Cookie, The Goan Caff, and Eat.Drink.Distil all opened their doors to the public at the start of the month. Each business brings something new and unique to the town. 

Lamppost banners consisting of five different and bespoke artworks showcasing Newbury’s most notable icons and landmarks have recently been installed across Newbury town centre, as part of Newbury Business Improvement District’s (BID) summer marketing campaign: ‘Newbury’s Calling: Summer Daycation.’

The colourful artwork is the first in a series of marketing and advertising placements in the pipeline aiming to promote Newbury to a wider audience to encourage visitors across the summer season while brightening the town centre and showcasing key marketing messages. The banner installation was completed on Friday 10^th June 2022 and will remain in-situ for the duration of the marketing campaign throughout summer and autumn.

The aim of the summer marketing campaign is to develop Newbury’s sense of place and future proof the high street by helping to establish the town as a go-to destination for day trips (or ‘daycations’) in the South of England.

The campaign follows Newbury’s hugely successful Christmas marketing campaign: ‘12 Days of Newbury’, which put Newbury in front of thousands with the launch of the town’s first-ever TV advert. Similarly, Newbury’s second TV advert for summer campaign has recently launched to a highly geo-targeted audience of Sky TV and Virgin Media customers from 1^st July. You can watch the TV advert online by clicking here.

Newbury BID, the not-for-profit organisation behind the Visit Newbury brand, ensured its marketing strategy covers all areas, including outdoor, digital, and print promotion of the campaign. An outline of everything there is to do in Newbury this summer can be found on the webpage for the campaign by clicking here.

Another key example of the type of media being used to help raise the profile of Newbury as a summer destination to a wider audience is the Reading Lights double-sided digital billboard, located outside of Reading train station. As the fifth busiest train station in the UK, the area receives 4.8 million fortnightly impacts, and is a prime position to promote Newbury this summer while encouraging visitors to use public transport to visit the town – an eponymous element addressed in ‘Newbury’s Calling’ which is also included in the TV advert.

For this reason, the use of bus advertising is also part of the strategy once again to help spread awareness of the marketing message. The eye-catching artwork for the campaign has just launched on the supersides of six Newbury & District buses, which is double the amount of bus advertising placements used for previous marketing campaigns for Newbury. The buses – part of the Reading Bus family – travel multiple routes across West Berkshire, and so the increased placements should help to raise Newbury’s profile this summer even more so.