As part of their campaign to improve the appearance of the town, the Bournemouth Coastal Business Improvement District (BID) has been cleaning the historic Westbourne Shopping Arcade.
Ahead of the busy Christmas shopping season, the Coastal BID has been helping to rejuvenate Westbourne’s famous arcade. They have brought in special equipment to give the grime covered thoroughfare a deep clean. This has unveiled the attractive flooring and made the area a more welcoming place for visitors.
The Westbourne Arcade runs between Poole Road and Seamoor Road. Completed in 1885, it has been at the centre of Westbourne’s shopping district for many generations, with thousands of people passing through the arcade every year. The ongoing Coastal BID cleaning project aims to enhance and preserve the popular Grade II Listed arcade. A collection of over 20 boutique stores and unique vendors currently reside within the building.
Stefan Krause, Coastal BID Manager, said:
“Constantly trodden underfoot by so many shoppers, it was hard to miss the thick layer of dirt that had built up on the floor of the Westbourne Arcade. Affecting the look and appeal of the historic building, we set out to deal with this problem area and brought in contractors to give it a thoroughly good cleaning.
The Bournemouth Coastal BID represents approximately 660 eligible levy paying businesses within Bournemouth’s coastal areas. It aims to enhance Bournemouth as a vibrant, attractive, eventful, connected, safe and successful environment in which to do business. Working in collaboration with the Westbourne Business Association the Coastal BID’s clean-up of the Westbourne Arcade was financed by the Westbourne business community.
Stefan, continues:
“We are extremely pleased to have revealed some of the arcade’s beautiful underlying features. Listening to the views of local businesses, our actions have made the area more appealing, we hope this will encourage more people to shop in Westbourne over Christmas.’’
The Coastal BID is now planning further cleaning projects across the 9 trading districts, which include Westbourne, Boscombe, Southbourne, East Cliff, West Cliff, Pier Approach, Pokesdown, Tuckton and Hengistbury Head.
To find out more about the Bournemouth Coastal BID, visit www.coastalbid.co.uk.