BID proposals & renewal
High street evidence for BID proposals and renewal ballots
A BID proposal or renewal ballot needs to show traders how the trading area has changed — with evidence, not anecdote. Wayback Walk gives you dated Street View captures of the same spot years apart, with the context to make the case honestly. Free to explore; method attached.
Data layers for the BID business case
- Side-by-side Street View of the BID area — same pin, same angle, different years. Traders and ratepayers can open the share link and see the comparison for themselves.
- Exact capture dates — the comparison window is the honest gap the archive holds. Useful for aligning the "then" with the start of the current or previous BID term.
- What's mapped now — live OpenStreetMap shop counts near the pin. Today's mix of retail, food, services — a current inventory of the trading area.
- Retail premises over time — ONS UK Business Counts (SIC 47) for the whole local authority, from 2010 onwards. Shows the direction of travel at authority level.
- Companies still on the register — Companies House snapshot for the postcode district: retail, hair & beauty, vape-adjacent composition. Survivorship-biased but directional.
- Political context — who governed nationally and locally during the comparison window. Context for the business case, not a blame line. Sourced from Open Council Data UK.
Where it fits in BID proposals and ballot documents
The business case — visual evidence of streetscape change
A BID proposal argues that the area needs coordinated investment. A dated side-by-side — with exact years and an honest method note — is more credible than a mood board of stock images or a single undated photograph. British BIDs guidance recommends clear evidence of need; a verifiable comparison strengthens that case.
Renewal ballot — showing what the BID inherited and where it is now
If the BID is up for renewal, set the "then" capture to a date near the original ballot. The share link preserves both dates, so levy payers can see the starting point and the current state in one view — and judge the progress themselves.
Trader consultation and AGM presentations
Share links work on phones — no app to install, no login. Drop one into a trader newsletter, AGM slide deck or consultation survey. Everyone sees the same comparison with the same dates.
Multi-street for a larger BID area
BIDs that cover several streets can commission a multi-street pack: three to five pins for the same area, same method, same deliverable. Each pin gets its own fact sheet and share link.
Not a footfall count or vacancy survey
Wayback Walk is an evidence aid, not a certified survey or GOAD plan. It does not count footfall, measure vacancy rates or replicate a formal retail study. It shows what two Street View captures show, in that window, with sourced context — and stops there.
Colour differences between old and new frames are camera artefacts (different hardware, compression, season), not evidence of decline. No "decline" framing, no politics rewritten as blame. The method page explains the honest limits and should be referenced alongside any use in a published document.
Common questions
What evidence should a BID proposal include?
How can a BID renewal ballot show progress?
What is a Business Improvement District?
Use it now — free to explore
The app is free — pick a street in the BID area, scrub through the archive, share the link with the board. No login, no installation. If you need a checked, deadline-ready comparison for a published document — with a fact sheet and method note — commission a pack.
Building a BID case?
If you're writing a BID proposal or preparing a renewal ballot and need a verified, dated comparison delivered to your timeline — share link, fact sheet, method note — use the commission form.