Comments on: Rare Games moving to Digbeth – are we ready for our new guests?

By: Dave Harte

Dave Harte — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:17:56 +0000

There are plenty of BIDs in Brum: Retail Birmingham, Colmore Row area has one, Kings Heath and Erdington both have one and there’s a proposed one for south of the city centre (jeez – am I the only who does any research around here?). They operate as effective lobbying tools for business giving them more say about how the area develops. All the tweeting in the world won’t get you a cashpoint but a BID could be a mechanism though which the council listens to Digbeth businesses and they in turn get some money (admittedly their own) to play with.

Of course it’s a form of buck-passing but the buck is passed, has been for a while now. It won’t be going back the other way any time soon.

As public services get cut over the next few years, requests for infrastructure improvements such as the ones needed in Digbeth will start to get pushed off the City’s agenda. Having a BID might help keep them on the agenda.

Kent Davis as chair, John Tigue as vice-chair – a Digbeth BID would be the coolest show in town.

By: Digbeth is Good » Getgood Link: Rare staying put, rep confirms | Game Development | News by Develop

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:53 +0000

[...] staying put, rep confirms | Game Development | News by Develop – Hmmm….after my worrying about giving them a proper welcome, it seems Rare may not be moving to Digbeth en masse after all. [...]

By: Jon Bounds

Jon Bounds — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:10:33 +0000

I think it’s a little bit of a buck passing exercise to suggest that “business” must create what are now really essential amenities? Isn’t it council responsibility to provide basic services?

Rare have sort of evolved from (nostalgia time) Ultimate — an Ashby based spectrum games company — so they’ll probably be happy with paved roads ;)

By: Ben Whitehouse

Ben Whitehouse — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:49:25 +0000

What impact in “teh real world” do BID’s have?

Which areas of the city already have BID’s? As a ‘normal’ person who works in the city I’m not really aware of anything beyond the BID for Broad Street. (Just had to mentally revise my image in my head of myself as someone who lives & works in Birmingham to being someone who just works in Birmingham)

What impact do the BIDs have?
(I refer again to the comment above about the Broad Street BID- I know they sort of look after the Walk of Stars, but doesn’t Caz Ashton control who gets on it or something?)

So no real help with your giraffes, cashpoints, bat signal, parking, shops or loudspeakers. Just some more questions.

By: Nicky Getgood

Nicky Getgood — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:01:50 +0000

Giraffes in Digbeth? Brilliant!

Okay, strike my third wish for amenities, I want the Microsoft Bat-Signal, Loudspeakers for the Intel sound logo and giraffes roaming the Digbeth streets.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:59:04 +0000

I reckon they’re more likely to ask where all the giraffes are – Rare currently live over at Twycross in Leicestershire, near the zoo. Maybe even at the zoo, that’d be cool.