The ‘Manor Royal Matters’ Conference, the flagship annual event for the Manor Royal Business Improvement District (BID), took place in November. The event, which also included the BID’s AGM and Annual Review, took place at the mid-point of its current five-year term (2023-28) and included an electronic polling session to gauge delegate views on key priorities.
The conference saw strong attendance with 130 delegates present, 85 of whom took part in the real-time electronic poll. The results confirm sustained high satisfaction and unprecedented support for the BID’s mandate, while clearly defining priorities for the remainder of the current term.
A headline finding was the remarkably stable level of satisfaction across the business district, with 91% of delegates reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied with Manor Royal, a figure consistent with the previous year. This high satisfaction level is a major trend, representing a vast improvement from the 13% satisfaction recorded before the BID’s formation in 2013.
In an unprecedented result, 100% of delegates stated they remain supportive of the Manor Royal BID. Furthermore, 89% believe the BID is focused on the right areas, reinforcing the mandate for its current five-year business plan.
Continued investment in improving the appearance and facilities in Manor Royal were cited by 65% as being important, while 51% emphasized the importance of events, networking and community building and 47% felt the BID’s role in representing and promoting the area was key.
When asked how Manor Royal should improve, Parking and Transport issues once again topped the list of priorities at 73%, underscoring the necessity of ongoing collaboration with local authorities to tackle the issues. This was followed by building a strong community (43%) and achieving excellence in sustainability (33%).
Despite external pressures, business confidence remains strong. 93% of respondents felt either “very” or “moderately” confident about the year ahead. 70% of businesses predicted some form of growth over the next 12 months.
However, delegates also noted challenges, with rising costs (57%), political uncertainty (47%), and economic uncertainty (35%) identified as the primary issues holding their businesses back.
Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of the Manor Royal BID, commented on the strong results:
“These opportunities to get feedback from businesses is crucial to the work of the Manor Royal BID to make sure we remain focussed on the right things. We have data going back over many years that helps to tell an important story of growth, change and progress as well as highlighting challenges and areas where improvement is still needed. As a team and Board of Directors, we will be taking stock of this and other feedback to plan for the future and make decisions about where investment is still needed.”
Date Published: 25/11/2025