Bury BID returned as title sponsor for the 10th anniversary of the Bury 10K.

The event brought runners, spectators and volunteers into the town centre for a day of running, fundraising and community activity.

BID businesses benefited from the additional activity in the area, while businesses and employees were also offered free race places. The Rock provided the venue for race number collection and the VIP area, with the race starting and finishing at The Rock Shopping Centre.

Impact:

• 1,540 10K entries
• 341 Mini and Junior entries
• 1,881 participants across all events
• Businesses engaged included Your Frameshop, Daily Grind Coffee, Specscart, The Rock Shopping Centre, Barista and WHN

The event took place on Sunday 20 September, with the route taking in The Rock and Bolton Street and the 10K starting and finishing at The Rock Shopping Centre.

Bury BID supported Glaston-Bury with funding for practical measures that helped make the event safer, more accessible and welcoming.

Support included additional security and medical cover, accessible toilets, a dedicated safe and quiet space, volunteer welfare and carer passes.

BID also promoted the event through Discover Bury’s website and social media, helping extend its reach and encourage people to visit the town centre.

Impact:

• 5,250 estimated event visitors
• Almost 4,000 confirmed ticket sales
• £10,000 spent on event security
• Additional medical provision, accessible facilities and safe space supported through BID funding
• 45,426 town centre footfall
• 3% increase in footfall compared with the previous year

Following its launch, the BID-funded Discover Bury website continued to grow as a digital destination platform for the town centre.

During 2025–26, the website attracted more than 84,000 visitors, demonstrating growing interest in Bury and providing businesses, events and local opportunities with a central online platform.

The site brought together a business directory, events, jobs, news and information about things to see and do, making it easier for visitors and the local community to discover what Bury had to offer.

Impact:

• 84,000+ website visitors during 2025–26
• Growing audience since launch:
  • 31,000 visitors in 2023–24
  • 42,000+ visitors in 2024–25
  • 84,000+ visitors in 2025–26
• 400+ businesses promoted through the online directory
• Approximately 40–50 uploads each month
• Jobs and local opportunities promoted
• Stronger digital platform supporting Bury as a destination

Discover Bury developed from a new website into an established digital platform for promoting Bury’s businesses, events and experiences.

Bury BID supported one of Bury’s biggest annual events, bringing food, drink, entertainment and visitors into the town centre.

The 2026 festival ran across three days, with activity spanning Bank Street, The Rock, Kay Gardens, Bury Market and local hospitality venues on Broad Street, Silver Street and Market Place.

Impact:

• 140,021 festival-period footfall
• 51.7% of Saturday visitors were new visitors
• 13,831 visitors to the festival campaign page
• 4,291 visitors to the festival programme page
• 399,280 paid digital impressions
• 491,000 estimated PR views
• 43,000 views for the best-performing trader feature
• 1,700 people indicated they were interested in the Facebook event
• 70+ traders involved
• Hospitality businesses supported to host Festival Fringe activity, including Broad Street Social, Two Tubs, West Ivy and Racconto Lounge

Business impact:

Bury BID promoted traders, hospitality businesses and Festival Fringe activity through its website, social media, PR and partner channels, helping extend the benefits of the festival beyond the main event sites.

Collaboration with Bury Market and the organisers of the Hong Kong Market helped extend the festival’s reach into established and new audiences. Sponsorship from Dunsters Farm also enabled additional PR, digital screen advertising and event branding.

Bury BID funded initiatives to improve accessibility and safety at Bury Pride, including BSL interpreters, accessible toilets and safety equipment.

BID promotional support also helped showcase the event and position Bury as a welcoming, diverse and culturally vibrant destination.

Impact:

• 1,500 attendees
• Activity animated Knowsley Street and the surrounding area
• Entertainment, street traders and food and drink traders supported activity in the town centre
• Partnership activity included East Lancashire Railway’s Rainbow Train
• Rainbow Walk travelled through the town centre
• Supported greater accessibility and inclusion at the event

Bury BID Comic Con was delivered in partnership with local businesses, venues and sponsors and brought eight themed zones, special guests and free family-friendly activities to the town centre.

The event encouraged visitors to explore multiple locations and created activity across the wider town centre.

Impact:

• 42,000+ town centre visitors
• 10% increase in footfall compared with the previous year
• Activity delivered across multiple locations, including Kay Gardens, Castle Leisure Centre, Mill Gate, The Met, The Rock Shopping Centre and East Lancashire Railway
• 12,666 campaign page visits
• 600,000+ social media views during the campaign period
• Marketing toolkit developed to support participating venues, businesses and sponsors

Business impact:

The event brought visitors into multiple parts of the town centre and provided businesses and venues with opportunities to participate in the campaign and benefit from the additional footfall and audience.

Bury BID delivered a spring destination campaign encouraging visitors to discover what was happening across Bury.

Campaign reach:

• 54,146 total video views
• 121,214 digital impressions
• 20,334 social media reach
• 8,555 website visits

Bury BID brought the Shaun the Sheep sculpture trail to Bury town centre, creating a family-friendly attraction that encouraged visitors to explore different parts of the town.

The trail involved businesses, cultural organisations and visitor attractions across Bury and was supported by a dedicated marketing campaign.

Impact:

• 15,000–20,000 estimated participants
• 10,000 trail maps distributed
• 348,599 paid digital impressions
• 7,428 campaign clicks
• 1.02 million estimated PR views
• 14 pieces of PR coverage, including BBC North West Tonight, BBC Radio Manchester, Bury Times, MEN, Visit Manchester and Secret Manchester
• 59-minute average dwell time, compared with 48 minutes during a similar period the previous year
• March footfall reached 1,395,820, compared with 1,375,922 in March 2025
• Businesses and organisations engaged included The Met, East Lancashire Railway, Bury Art Museum, Castle Leisure Centre, The Fusilier Museum, GO Outdoors, Marks & Spencer, Vue, Pets at Home, Argos and Mill Gate

Case study: Shaun the Sheep

The Shaun the Sheep trail provided a family-focused attraction that encouraged visitors to explore Bury’s town centre and spend longer in the area.

The campaign combined physical activity with digital and PR promotion, generating more than one million estimated PR views and 348,599 paid digital impressions.

The increase in average dwell time from 48 to 59 minutes provided evidence that the attraction encouraged visitors to spend longer in the town centre.

Bury BID continued to bring local businesses together through the Bury Business Club, providing opportunities to network, share ideas and build relationships.

Bury BID delivered targeted street cleaning, graffiti removal, waste removal and weed removal around the back of Tithebarn Street and the back of The Rock, benefiting surrounding businesses including Antony’s for Hair, Pepe’s Piri Piri Chicken and Age UK.

Impact:

• Graffiti removed
• Enhanced street cleaning and jet washing
• Weed removal
• Waste and fly-tipping removal

Hosted by Flight and Green, Business NetGolf provided a relaxed setting for local businesses to connect, build relationships and network outside the usual business environment.

Impact:

• 10 local business representatives engaged
• Businesses represented including The Rock Shopping Centre, Mill Gate, WHN, Flight and Green and Bury Hospice
• Created an informal opportunity for businesses from different sectors to meet and strengthen relationships
• Supported greater collaboration and engagement across the local business community

Bury BID provided a different approach to business networking, combining professional connection with wellbeing.

Bury Chiropractic led a workshop on spinal care in the workplace, followed by a gentle yoga session hosted by The Met.

Impact:

• 14 attendees
• 6 businesses represented, including Bury Chiropractic, The Met, Wax and Beans, WHN and Teal Tag Vintage

Bury BID provided an informal opportunity for local businesses to connect, network and get to know the town centre. This session was hosted by Specscart and provided a short town centre walk with a tour of their business and working lunch.

Impact:

• 6 businesses represented
• 10 attendees

Bury BID funded a free half-day Deaf Awareness training course to help local businesses improve their understanding of deaf awareness, create more inclusive customer experiences and improve accessibility.

Impact:

• 13 people trained
• 5 businesses represented, including The A World, Insure My Business, The Two Tubs, DWP and The Fusilier Museum
• £375 course cost saving to levy payers

Bury BID provided businesses with practical support and information about reporting and tackling business crime.

Two drop-in sessions were delivered at Mill Gate, supported by direct communication and face-to-face engagement from the BID team and Town Centre Rangers.

Impact:

• 2 sessions delivered
• 100+ businesses engaged
• Engagement through:
  • Leaflet distribution
  • Direct email
  • BID team engagement
  • Town Centre Ranger engagement

Bury BID provided further free first aid training for BID businesses.

Impact:

• 11 people trained
• 9 businesses supported
• Approximately £100 saving per business in training costs

Bury BID funded and launched free online training opportunities for BID businesses, giving teams access to flexible professional development.

Impact:

• 234 registered users, including WHN, Bury Council, Bury College and The Fusilier Museum
• Top users included WHN, East Lancashire Railway, Bury Music Service and Bury Art Museum
• 212 training modules completed since launch

Bury BID funded enhanced cleaning, jet washing, chewing gum removal, weed removal and waste removal across key town centre locations.

Impact:

• 4 key town centre locations improved
• Approximately 1,651 square metres of pavement cleaned

Bury BID funded enhanced cleaning at Bury Lions Gardens to improve the appearance and presentation of the town centre location.

Pavements and seating were jet washed, litter was removed and the metal sculpture was cleaned.

Impact:

• Businesses engaged included Spatial Sound and Vision, The Coffee House, Mill Gate and Number 10
• Improved the appearance and presentation of the area

Bury BID delivered a Christmas destination campaign promoting Bury as a destination for shopping, food, events and festive experiences.

The campaign was supported by a digital Festive Guide, Festive Advent content on the Discover Bury blog and social media activity promoting what was happening across the town centre.

Campaign reach:

• 114,874 digital impressions
• 20,334 social media reach
• 8,555 website visits

Bury BID funded a family-friendly virtual reality festive trail around the town centre.

The trail was supported by paid digital advertising, schools engagement and seasonal destination marketing content, encouraging families to explore different parts of Bury.

Impact:

• 1,152 trail participants/visitors
• 10 businesses took part across the town centre
• 604,065 digital reach
• 12,645 website visits

Bury BID delivered an autumn destination campaign highlighting things to see, do and enjoy across Bury town centre.

The campaign was supported by visitor guide content on Discover Bury, including guides to Oktoberfest in Bury, Bury Festival of Art and autumn in Bury.

Campaign reach:

• 110,645 digital impressions
• 24,654 social media reach
• 14,259 website visits

Bury BID delivered a series of films celebrating the people, businesses and places that made Bury special.

The campaign showcased local businesses and organisations to wider audiences while helping build local pride and promote Bury as a destination.

Campaign delivery:

• 8 business and organisation spotlight films produced:
  • The Met
  • East Lancashire Railway
  • Mill Gate
  • Wax and Beans
  • Broad Street Social
  • Specscart
  • Bury Market
  • Bury Pride
• Additional businesses featured through social media content:
  • Your Frameshop
  • The Rock
  • Barista

Case study: Specscart x All Together Bury

Bury BID worked with Specscart as part of the All Together Bury campaign to create a video showcasing the business and its connection with Bury.

Campaign reach:

• 162,683 total video views
  • Facebook: 103,435
  • Instagram: 59,248
• 271 interactions
  • Facebook: 137
  • Instagram: 134

Business impact:

Specscart chose to put paid spend behind the campaign video to extend its reach. The business reported increased footfall into its Bury store and increased sales following the campaign.

Business voice:

“The response to our All Together Bury campaign video has been fantastic. We’ve seen lots of new footfall into our Bury store, great engagement on social media and an increase in sales. We’re aiming for every Bury person who wears specs to be wearing Specscart – and this is a good start!”

Sid Sethi, CEO, Specscart

Bury BID worked in partnership with Bury Market and provided promotional assets for the Group Travel and Leisure Show to raise awareness of Bury as a destination for coach groups and leisure visits.

The event provided an opportunity to promote Bury directly to group travel organisers, build new contacts and gather feedback on issues affecting coach visits, including road improvements and parking.

Impact:

• 200 businesses represented at the exhibition, providing a networking opportunity alongside event attendees
• Approximately 30% of attendees interacted with the exhibition stand
• Approximately 25 new leads
• Bury Market recorded a 3% year-on-year increase in coach visits since attending the exhibition

Bury BID was headline sponsor for the Run for All Bury BID 10K for the second year, helping bring runners, spectators and volunteers into the town centre.

Bury BID also provided promotional support and supported initiatives that benefited BID businesses, including inclusion in the virtual goodie bag and free race places for levy payers.

Impact:

• 1,493 10K runners
• 112 Mini and Junior participants
• 1,605 total race participants
• 35,556 town centre footfall
• 2% increase in footfall compared with the previous year
• 19% increase compared with the previous month

Bury BID launched its summer destination video campaign to showcase the people, places, events and experiences that made Bury a great place to visit.

The campaign was supported by paid social activity, a dedicated video page and seasonal visitor content on the Discover Bury blog.

Campaign reach:

• 16,659 digital impressions
• 19,914 social media reach/viewers
• 10,265 website visits

Delivered in partnership with Bury Market, the festival welcomed over 134,000 visitors across three days, showcasing traders, live activities and diverse food experiences.

Impact:

• 134,214 visitors •Strong engagement with hospitality businesses
• Increased dwell time above town centre averages
• PR reach of 16 million
• Well-managed and appealing destination for all

A multi-venue pop culture celebration spanning Bury Art Museum, The Fusilier Museum, The Rock, Mill Gate and The Met. Partnership delivery encouraged town centre exploration and increased dwell time across multiple locations.

Impact:

• 38,900 visitors – 6% increase year-on-year
• 54.9% new visitors to the town centre
• Strong family engagement and extended visitor dwell time

Bury BID provided funding to improve accessibility and safety at Glaston-Bury, including accessible toilets, safety equipment and additional security. BID promotional support also helped the event attract visitors and showcase Bury’s wider town centre offer.

Impact:

• 43,988 town centre footfall on the day
• 13% increase compared with the equivalent day the previous month
• Approximately 4,000 event visitors
• Activity animated multiple areas of the town centre, including outside The Drill Hall, East Lancashire Railway and local pubs and bars including The Monkey House, The Met, Murphy’s and Two Tubs

Bury BID provided free certified Emergency at Work First Aid training to help BID businesses build practical skills and confidence.

Impact:

• 9 people trained
• Approximately £100 saving per business in training costs

Bury BID, in partnership with PM+M, Woodcock Haworth and Nuttall Solicitors, launched the inaugural Bury Business Club to bring local businesses together to network, share ideas and build connections.

Bury BID hosted a Heritage Week netwalking event to support cultural and heritage organisations and give local businesses an opportunity to explore Bury’s heritage and connect with other businesses.

The route included the Irwell Sculpture Trail and key heritage and cultural buildings before finishing with refreshments at The Met’s newly refurbished café bar.

Impact:

• Route included East Lancashire Railway, Bury Art Museum, The Rock Shopping Centre, Mill Gate, Bury Interchange, Kay Gardens, The Met, Bury Parish Church, The Drill Hall, Bolton Street and Market Place
• 12 attendees

Working in partnership with Bury Council and Jobcentre Plus, Bury BID supported local businesses and residents to connect through a recruitment event held at The Met.

Bury BID also promoted local job vacancies for BID members through Discover Bury.

Maintaining a clean, safe and attractive town centre supports business confidence and enhances visitor experience.

Impact:

• 2 town centre deep cleans
• 14 planters cleared and replanted
• Purple Flag retained (10th consecutive year)
• 24 town centre bins replaced
• 6 fly-tipping areas cleared (30+ bags removed)

Delivered with Greater Manchester Police and Bury Council to support businesses in reporting crime effectively.

Impact:

• 70 businesses attended
• Crime prevention training delivered
• BCR system demonstrations
• Strengthened partnership working

Launched June 2024 to support retail and night-time economy businesses.

Impact:

• 85+ businesses engaged
• Training and demonstrations provided
• Improved collaboration with GMP

Bury BID’s rolling deep-cleaning programme covered Bolton Street, The Old Rock, Tithebarn Street, Haymarket, Market Street, Market Place, Knowsley Street, Silver Street and Broad Street, totalling 24,000m². Fly-tipping hotspots were addressed in partnership with Bury Council, removing over 30 bags of waste.

Impact:

• 24,000m² pavements deep cleaned
• 24 bins upgraded and replaced
• Cleaner and safer streets

Kay Gardens and Library Gardens were cleared, refreshed and replanted. Fourteen planters across the town centre received seasonal planting and ongoing maintenance funded by Bury BID.

Impact:

• Gardens refreshed and replanted
• 14 planters improved
• Long-term maintenance provided

Town centre spaces remain greener, more welcoming and enjoyable for businesses, residents and visitors.

Bury BID’s Town Centre Rangers began providing a visible, friendly presence in Bury town centre, supporting businesses, visitors and partners and helping create a safer, more welcoming environment.

Impact:

• Regular engagement with businesses
• Monthly Bury BID newsletters delivered to businesses
• Incidents reported and dealt with each month, including:
  • Anti-social behaviour
  • Theft
  • Fly-tipping
  • Hazardous waste removal
  • First aid support

Bury BID supported improvements to the town centre environment through the refurbishment of seating at The Rock.

Impact:

• 6 benches renovated or replaced
• Improved town centre seating and visitor experience

Bury BID funding supported additional Christmas lighting across the town centre, helping create a welcoming festive environment for visitors and businesses.

The lighting scheme linked visually with existing schemes at Mill Gate and The Rock and extended festive lighting across key town centre locations.

Delivered:

• Additional lighting for after-dark hours
• Lighting linking existing schemes at The Rock and Mill Gate
• Lighting installed on The Rock, Union Street, Bolton Street and Silver Street
• Tree lighting in Library Gardens, Market Place and Kay Gardens

Delivered in partnership with The Met, Bury, over 300 lanterns were created by local families, including many first-time participants in town centre activities. The parade, performers and fire garden at Kay Gardens created a vibrant festive atmosphere ahead of the key trading period.

Impact:

• 46,868 visitors – a 19% increase on the same day on the previous month
• 23,040 new visitors experienced Bury town centre for the first time
• Average dwell time increased by 4 minutes

On Sunday the 15th September 2024, the Bury BID 10K will be taking place in collaboration with Bury Council and promises to be a fun day for all involved, no matter whether you are an experienced runner or just starting out your journey. The run starts and ends at The Rock and will take you through the town centre and out into the surrounding area around Bury.

On the 30th of June 2024, Comic Con returned to the town centre bigger and better, this time featuring a Jurassic area in Kay Gardens as well as guests such as Sylvester McCoy, Clive Mantle and Nigel Parkinson. The event saw iconic movies vehicles, superhero statues, a trader’s area, a comic book creation zone, and a Doctor Who zone situated at various venues around the town centre. The cosplay competition also made a return with nearly 200 people attending, as well as a new event, Comic Con Pen Paper and Pose and Movie Make Up and Prop demos from the University of Bolton. Over 24,000 visitors came to Bury town centre to enjoy the trail.

In April 2024, Bury BID worked in collaboration with Bury Council, and Greater Manchester Police to host a month-long installation of the iconic Knife Angel sculpture to the Town Centre. Over the course of the month many events took place around the Knife Angel, including a photography competition, a programme community and schools engagement events and workshops highlighting the dangers of knife crime, sport, art and drama workshops exploring the theme of knife crime prevention, school visits and culminated in a community vigil.

Bury BID invests in initiatives that improve access, infrastructure and the physical environment of the town centre, helping ensure Bury remains an attractive, inclusive and easy place to visit, work and do business.

An enhanced Christmas lighting scheme expanded coverage to The Old Rock and installed tree lighting across Market Place, Kay Gardens and Library Gardens, alongside festive motifs on Bolton and Silver Street. A total of 920m of LED lighting was installed.

Impact:

• Supported peak trading period
• Enhanced visitor experience
• Improved lighting and accessibility

Bury BID supported accessible delivery of Bury Pride (June), Glaston-Bury (August) and Bury Mela (August), including promotion of Mill Gate’s Take a Seat initiative.

Impact:

• Improved accessibility measures
• Inclusive visitor experiences
• Increased footfall and engagement
• Stronger community partnerships

Bury BID funds visitor monitoring software analysing footfall, dwell time and visitor origin. Reports are shared with BID businesses to support planning and decision-making.

Bury BID provides practical support to help businesses build skills, networks and resilience. This takes place through:

• Working Groups
• Marketing Group
• Events Group
• Town Centre Management Group

Combining well-being and networking opportunities during summer months.

Impact:

• 5 sessions delivered with 60 attendees

Monthly drop-in sessions enabling businesses to share ideas, raise issues and engage with BID initiatives.

Three funded Emergency First Aid at work courses delivered to support compliance, reduce costs through collective procurement and build confidence.

Impact:

• 3 sessions delivered
• 31 businesses trained
• £120 saving per participant

This includes:

• Monthly newsletters (distributed digitally and by hand delivery to ensure businesses remain informed of opportunities and updates.)
• Free Discover Bury listings
• Business spotlights and campaigns
• Website news updates

Bury BID funds visitor monitoring software analysing footfall, dwell time and visitor origin. Reports are shared with BID businesses to support planning and decision-making.

Bury BID in partnership with The Met hosted a seasonal community gathering that invited children and families to create their own lanterns to accompany the large-scale lantern parade puppets. Over 100 local people took part in the parade the processed from The Met, up the The Rock to St John’s Square where they were entertained with music and street performers and returned via the Mill Gate to Kay Gardens. The parade culminated with live music, a fire garden, and sculptural installations making for a great evening for all those in attendance.

In November 2023, the BID hosted a Networking event for business owners in the town centre featuring guest speakers Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Councillor Eamonn O’Brien who spoke to the businesses attending the event. Over 70 businesses attended to hear about the strategic plan for Bury and Greater Manchester and take part in a Q & A.

Bury BID introduced Bury Comic Con, a town centre wide celebration of all things comic and pop culture related which has since become a recurring event enjoyed by thousands of people. In its first year the town welcomed many special guests, including Colin Baker, Mickey Lewis, Colin Mathieson, Willie Copen, and George Copen, as well as hosting a cosplay competition and much more which proved to be an enjoyable day for families and Pop Culture enthusiasts.

Creating a destination platform for Bury

Bury BID funded the development of Discover Bury, a dedicated destination website designed to showcase everything the town centre had to offer in one place.

The platform brought together information for visitors, residents and businesses, including a business directory, events calendar, latest news and local job opportunities. It provided businesses with a platform to promote what they offered and made it easier for people to discover places to shop, eat, visit and enjoy across Bury.

Impact:

• One dedicated destination platform for Bury town centre
• Business directory showcasing local businesses
• Central events calendar promoting what was on
• Jobs and opportunities supporting local recruitment
• Latest news and updates from Bury
• A stronger digital presence promoting Bury as a destination

Discover Bury provided Bury with a central online platform for promoting its businesses, events and experiences and helped visitors and the local community discover more of what the town had to offer.

In April 2023, the Bury BID hosted its first event in the town centre, this being the Easter Silent Disco in the Millgate shopping centre. This event proved to be a fun time for both kids and their parents, whilst introducing the town centre to the BID and its work in the Town Centre.