Welcome to the City Speak newsletter Firstly I want to apologise that this edition is a little later than planned, but as you will see

from the articles in this issue, we have been busy progressing some really exciting projects,

including branding for the city centre, more city events, a new website, mobile phone app,

city map, door stickers and more. Because we wanted to tell you all about these

developments and more, we delayed the publication of City Speak a little.

In this edition, we formally welcome Debenhams to the city. The arrival of the new store has

really lifted the city centre, and brought crowds of people to enjoy the store, as well as the

other delights the city has to offer, boosting many nearby shops and businesses. We also

welcome other new stores including Accessories in Tudor Row, and the new Ruby noodle bar

in the Corn Exchange - congratulations to all new businesses and welcome! Other empty

units are also filling up fast, which is fantastic to see, and we look forward to welcoming

these businesses as well! And, we wish Hindleys Bakery a very happy 120 years!

This edition also contains news of the city’s Heart of England in Bloom entry (see below)!

There’s also news of Lichfield Food Festival, free advice for your business, discount cards and

more. We hope you enjoy reading this edition of City Speak.

Richard Lewis President, Lichfield Chamber of Trade & Commerce

In this edition 2 Introducing the new city brand

3 Door stickers and city map

3 More events for Lichfield City

4 New home for the TIC

4 Friary Outer update

4 Friarsgate update

4 New city advertising pods

4 City centre paving update

5 Cathedral Christmas events

5 Get free business advice

5 Hanging baskets - get yours!

6 Lichfield Food Festival is back

6 Where next with city funding?

7 Boost your business with offers

7 Thanks for going ‘Buy Local’

8 Events, proms, and more

8 Calendar of key events

Heart of England in Bloom -

thanks for your support! Update from Lichfield Chamber of Trade & Commerce

Following last year’s runaway success, when the city

scooped a Silver Gilt award in the Heart of England in

Bloom competition, the Chamber of Trade &

Commerce once again entered the city into this year’s

floral festivities.

The competition is run by the Royal Horticultural Society and is widely recognised as the standard

bearer for floral competitions. This year our entry was supported by Lichfield District Council,

Lichfield City Council, local groups and businesses across the city, who all took part in the judging

day, including Tempest Ford which provided cars for the judges, as well as a light buffet lunch.

The day started at Mabel’s Tea Rooms at Curborough Craft Centre, where the judges heard short

presentations on recycling and sustainability. The winners of the schools wheelbarrow competition

were also presented with their prizes in front of the judges. The group then visited Christian Fields

Nature Reserve and the Netherstowe allotments. At around 11am the party arrived in the city and

visited the Garden of Remembrance, Minster Pool Walk, Bolt Court, Market Square, where a special

Farmers’ Market took, Lichfield Heritage Centre, Speakers’ Corner and the Cathedral Close. The party

then toured St John’s garden and Erasmus Darwin House herb garden. They then headed to Beacon

Park to see the woodland, teaching centre and community garden.

Richard Lewis, President of the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, said: “I’d like to thank everyone on

the Blooming Lichfield Team for helping to prepare for this year’s judging. It has been a huge team

effort. I’d also like to thank city businesses for helping us to prepare for the day by making sure their

business frontages were spic and span, purchasing hanging baskets, and doing a quick litter check

outside their shops on the morning of the judging. It would be fantastic to win another prize this

year, so thanks again to everyone, and fingers crossed whilst we await the result!”

To find out more email lewis_rm@yahoo.co.uk

Bunting is back! Update from the Lichfield

Town Team

We had so much positive

feedback about the

bunting last year, that it

was back on the streets in

time for the Heart of

England in Bloom judging

day and the Festival.

Ruth Plant, Chair of the

Town Team, said: “We

bought good quality

bunting last year, so after

a quick check, we decided

it was in good enough

condition to re-use. The

Lichfield Town Team also

agreed to pay to put the

bunting up and take it

down at the end of the

summer.

Email elizabeth.thatcher@

lichfielddc.gov.uk

Issue 6 July 2013

1

Who’s the Town Team? The Lichfield Town Team is a city working

group that brings together representatives

from local organisations, the district and city

councils, and local businesses, including

Tempest Ford, Friary Shoes, Tudor Row and

others. The group meets monthly to discuss

ways to improve the city through small

projects and other ideas. The team is also

tasked with investing the High Street

Innovation funding to boost the city.

The Marketing Taskforce is a smaller group of

the Town Team, and includes Louie Clegg

from the Best of Lichfield, Brian Carruthers

from Tempest Ford, Anna Riley from Cure,

Becky Edwards from Stardust, Sally Osbourne

from Mooch Kids, Richard Lewis from the

Chamber of Trade & Commerce, Lisa

Prokopiou from Three Spires Shopping

centre, Paul Oakley from the Lichfield

Gazette, Judith Lundie from Room to Inspire,

and Louise Hall from Dame Olivers. To get

involved call Lizzie on 01543 308781 or email

elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Introducing the new ‘One Inspiring City’

marketing brand Update from the Town Team Marketing Taskforce City centre businesses have been working together to invest £50,000 High Street

Innovation funding and £10,000 Town Team funding to boost Lichfield City

centre. To help come up with the best ways to invest the money, over 60 city

businesses attended two open traders’ events at the Lichfield Garrick, where they

took part in workshops and voted on the ideas they would like to see taken

forward … see previous issues of city speak www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/cityspeak

The top idea voted for by traders was better marketing of the city’s lifestyle offer

through a new brand, and the need for Lichfield to compete with nearby shopping

areas by advertising on the back of buses, billboards, bus stops, in train carriages

and more. Traders also want a better way to help shoppers navigate the city, and

to make sure they discover its hidden gems, such as Tamworth Street, Bird Street

and Bolt Court, that new visitors to the city might easily miss.

Through the work with local traders, it was agreed that £2,000 would be set aside

to develop a new brand, £6,000 would be set aside for advertising and promotion,

and £3,000 would be set aside for a new website and a mobile app. These ideas

have since been taken forwards by the recently formed Lichfield Town Team, and

to kick start the process, six local design agencies were asked to come up with

design ideas for the branding.

Anna Riley from Cure and member of the Marketing Taskforce

commented: “All the designs submitted were fantastic, and we

were bowled over by the enthusiasm and commitment of the

agencies. On behalf of the Lichfield Town Team and the city, I’d like

to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted their ideas.

After much deliberation, however, the team chose a design by

Bluflame, a city based design agency. The design is fresh, vibrant

and modern and we felt it will appeal to shoppers and visitors who

might otherwise not think about coming to the city, as well as to our

loyal shoppers and customers. We’d also like to say a huge thank

you to Development Securities, the developers of the Friarsgate

Scheme, who have contributed £2,000 to the brand development.”

The team is now working on key projects to drive the brand out across the city

and beyond, including a new city centre website that resizes to all mobile

devices, door stickers, a city centre map, and a suite of advertisements.

To find out more email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call

Lizzie on 01543 308781.

2

Draft new website design

The team behind the design Update from the Town Team Marketing Taskforce

The team behind the new city centre branding is a company called

Bluflame Creative Design Solutions. Bluflame has been based in

Lichfield City for just over two years and has worked on local

projects ranging from the Staffordshire Hoard to St John’s House

marketing. The team working on the designs are Geoff and Vicky,

who have recently joined the Town Team Marketing Taskforce and

will be involved moving forwards to help deliver the project.

To find out more about Bluflame visit www.bluflame.co.uk

Door stickers and city map Update from the Town Team Marketing Taskforce

One of the first things you’ll see the new city brand

appearing on is door stickers (see below), that link people

through to the new mobile website, and a pocket-sized

city map.

We’re hoping that all city businesses will be happy to

display a door sticker, and in return we’ll be offering all

businesses a free listing on our new city website, including

a photo, map, description and more, and a free listing in

our new city map. We’re also hoping that lots of businesses

will be happy to stock copies of the city map to hand out to

customers. The maps are small (about 10cm x 7cm), so

they fit into a pocket or bag easily, and then they fold out

to A3 size and will include listings of all city retailers,

attractions, car parks and more. We’ll also be providing

point of sale Perspex display cases for the maps.

Would you like to advertise on the city

map? The map costs around £3,000 to print, so we’ll be

offering city businesses the chance to advertise in it from

around £100. To find out more call Lizzie on 01543 308781

or email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk or look

out for the flyer included in this issue of City Speak.

3

More events for Lichfield City ... Traders also voted to bring new events into the city to boost

footfall in shops and businesses. This was the second most

popular idea following the recent traders’ meetings.

To help deliver new events, £6,000 was set aside from the High

Street Innovation funding, and in May local organisations were

invited to pitch for a share of the money to deliver new city based

events.

An Events Taskforce was set up to review the pitches in June, which

included ideas for a gardening and growers festival, a treasure hunt

and more. On this occasion just one event was selected, which was

an idea put forwards by a local event company called Blue

Strawberry.

Lucy from Blue Strawberry explains: “Our idea is to host a

Gardening Festival in August 2014. We’ll be bringing colourful stalls

into the city, linking up with market traders and businesses, and

hosting talks and speeches from experts, including TV gardening

experts. Gardening is so popular at the moment, and the event ties

in really well to the city's entry into the Heart of England in Bloom

competition, as well as the recent parks makeover. We’re also

hoping to turn the event into an annual occasion to bring more and

more people into the city each year.”

Marie from Rieve, who is

on the Events Taskforce,

added: “We were thrilled

with the pitches put in by

local organisations and on

behalf of the Town

Team I’d like to thank the

organisations who

submitted a tender.

We’re looking forward to

working with Lucy and her

team and seeing the plans

for the gardening and

growers festival

unfold.”

To find out more email

elizabeth.thatcher

@lichfielddc.gov.uk or

call Lizzie on 01543

308781.

Draft door sticker design, linking people to the

new mobile website

4

Friary Outer update Update from Lichfield District Council The development of the new car park and housing is now in

its finishing stages, which includes installing internal

fixtures and fittings and snagging work. Work on the new

hotel is also set to start soon.

Lots of people have been asking about when the footpaths

will reopen, and here’s an update:

� Once the car park is open, we’ll reopen the footpath on

The Friary.

� The footway closure order has been extended to allow

the new Premier Inn hotel to be built.

� This means the footpath on Swan Road will remain closed

whilst the work on the hotel is underway.

Thank you for your patience whilst the building work takes

place, and to find out more about the development please

email helen.cook@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call 01543 308252

New home for the city’s

Tourist Information Centre Update from Lichfield District Council & Visit Lichfield Lichfield’s Tourist Information Centre moved from the

Lichfield Garrick into Lichfield Heritage Centre on 1 July 2013.

The move will boost the visitor experience in the city, provide

a rent free home for the Tourist Information Centre, and it’s

hoped the 40,000 visitors the Tourist Information Centre

attracts every year will help to safeguard the ongoing survival

of Lichfield Heritage Centre.

The move is taking place in a staged way. The first stage was

to move the team and to make sure all the services are up and

running. The team will now spend the summer getting up to

speed in their new home, as well as serving this summer

season’s visitors.

David Wallington, President of the Guild of St Mary’s, said:

“We’re then looking forward to a joint re-launch in late

summer, early autumn, and we’ll be working with other

partners to see what improvements and enhancements we

can make to support their activities as well. To find out more

email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call Lizzie

on 01543 308781.

New advertising &

information pods

coming to Three Spires

Shopping centre Update from Three Spires Shopping centre &

Wonderworks Media As part of the recent make-over of Three

Spires Shopping centre, which has seen new

signage and eye catching window graphics

installed, as well as repainted benches, street

furniture and more, the team at Three Spires

is installing three new advertising pods in the

centre.

The pods will be located by Boots, near Raw

Menswear/Two Seasons, and near the Gresley Row car park

entrance. Each pod houses two 46 inch high definition plasma

screens that will promote a variety of advertising and information

for shoppers visiting the centre. The pods also give businesses

across the city a chance to advertise their products to shoppers in

Three Spires and encourage them to visit all the city streets.

How does it work and what does it cost?:

� From just over £400 a month, your advert could appear up to

96 times a day (over a 24 hour period), every day, for three

months*

� The team at Wonderworks Media can help you to create

your advert.

� Because the content is digital if, during your campaign, you

want to run a special offer or promotion, you can do this

easily and quickly - although there could be a small cost for this.

� The pods also feature weather and local messages, together with

local promotional and charity advertising, so people will regularly

stop to read them to find out more and see your ad.

To find out more call the team at WonderWorks on 0207 630 3330

or email andrewc@wonderworks-media.com * based on a three month campaign commitment

Friarsgate update Update from Lichfield District Council The proposal to build a new shopping and leisure complex

on the site of the bus station, police station and multi-

storey car park is being taken forwards by the developers,

Development Securities Ltd. The team is currently

reviewing the plans and working with potential retailers

and the district council to map out the next stages in the

scheme’s development. New plans will be presented to

Lichfield District Council during the summer months and

we’ll bring you an update in the next issue of City Speak.

To find out more about the development please email

helen.cook@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call 01543 308252

City Centre paving update Update from Lichfield District Council Market Square and a number of city centre streets were paved with

heritage stones in 2007. On completion, the project was widely

praised by local businesses and local people, and it has helped to

boost the attractiveness of the city centre.

Since then, a number of paving stones have deteriorated and patch

repairs have been carried out. Recently, the number of broken

paving stones has increased to a point where we agreed with

Staffordshire County Council, as the highways authority, that a full

review is needed. We’ve been working with Staffordshire County

Council, the landscape architect and the materials supplier to

understand the cause and extent of the issue, and to look at the

possible solutions.

We’ll keep you posted in future editions of City Speak, or for

further details, email richard.king@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call

01543 308060.

It’s not to

late too get a

hanging

basket! Update from the Chamber

of Trade & Commerce

The Lichfield Chamber of Trade and Commerce has once again

supplied businesses in the city centre with beautiful hanging

baskets that are just starting to bloom! So, if you are eyeing

your neighbour’s baskets with envy, and want to help brighten

up your shopfront and the city, order yours today!

For just £53, the Chamber will deliver and

hang your basket(s), and then water* it

throughout the summer, and take it away in

the autumn!

Last year over 130 red, white and blue baskets decorated our

streets and, along with the bunting, helped to celebrate the

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in style! We’re hoping to top the

number of baskets in the city this year, and we’re grateful to all

the shops and businesses who purchased theirs ready for Heart

of England in Bloom judging on 4 July (see page 1).

To book your baskets, which are multi-

coloured this year, call Rob Young on 01543

473183 or email yourob518@aol.com *The watering is paid for by Lichfield City Council and carried

out by Lichfield District Council, so thanks to them both!

Christmas

at the

Cathedral -

dates for

your diary! Update from Lichfield

Cathedral Whilst summer hasn't

really hit yet, the

cathedral is already

planning for the chilly

months, and wants as

many businesses to get involved as possible in their range of

fantastic festive activities. Here’s how to ...

Enter a tree into the Christmas Tree Festival

Back by popular demand, the cathedral will be hosting a

Christmas Tree Festival in partnership with the Forestry

Commission between 7 & 15 December. Groups, businesses

and more from across the city and district are invited to

decorate themed trees for visitors to enjoy - last year saw trees

decorated in chains and hazard tape (Tippers), and cotton reels

and handmade decorations (The Sewing Shop) and more.

Entering a tree is a great way to support this fantastic

community event and a great way to promote your business to

thousands of visitors across the nine-day event.

Take part in the Advent Window Trail

Business across the city are being invited to sign up to take part

in an Advent Window Trail. The trail will see shops decorating

their windows in the run up to Christmas. The festive trail

around the shops will be promoted to thousands of visitors that

pass through the Cathedral and visit the city over the Christmas

period. Over 30 shops are already signed up to the trail, but if

you are interested in finding out more, contact the team.

Festive Food & Gift Fair

New this year is a Festive Food & Gift Fair on 14 December in

the Cathedral Nave and just outside. The fair will showcase the

best in local and regional produce and crafts. If you would like

to take part in the fair, contact the team.

Come along to Songs for the City

The cathedral team would like to invite all businesses from

across the city to put a date in the diary for the ever

popular ‘Songs for a City’ on Tuesday 3 December. Everyone is

welcome for a fantastic festive affair, where members of the

business community are recognised and thanked for their work

to provide jobs, boost the economy, and for their contribution

to the life of our city.

For more information on any of the above events,

or to take part in the cathedral’s Christmas

activities, please contact Judith Ayton, Fundraising

& Database Officer, on 01543 306106 or email

judith.ayton@lichfield-cathedral.org

Free business support

and advice Update from Lichfield District Council

Thanks to funding from the Lichfield District Strategic

Partnership, we’ve teamed up with a local company,

Business Development Services Ltd, to offer businesses like

yours a free advice and support service called Lichfield 4

Business.

Based in Elmhurst in Lichfield District, BDS Ltd has over 24

years experience supporting local businesses, and is now

offering a range of free advice and guidance, including

business and employment growth, workforce development,

improved access to finance and general business development

advice, until June 2014.

To find out more about the free support and

advice available to your business email

james.roberts@lichfielddc.gov.uk or visit

www.bds-uk.co.uk

5

Last year’s Christmas Tree Festival

Photo credit Lichfield Camera Club

6

Have you offered a

special offer yet? Update from Visit Lichfield Hundreds of business across the city and

district regularly submit offers to the Visit Lichfield special offers

card scheme. Why? Because your special offer gets included in a

monthly email to over 3,000 signed up card holders for free, which

then encourages card holders to visit you to claim your special

offers. Submitting an offer is easy - call Emily on 01543 308215 or

email emily.robinson@lichfielddc.gov.uk for details.

Lichfield Food

is back! Saturday 31 August and

Sunday 1 September Update from the Lichfield Garrick,

Lichfield District Council &

Lichfield City Council

Following last year’s success, Lichfield Food Festival is

returning this year and will help to end our summer in

delicious style! Boasting expert cookery demonstrations

and producers’ stalls, together with a weekend Farmers’

Market and The Best of Local Brewers festival in the

Guildroom, this year’s event will celebrate the very best of

local produce and talent.

Last year’s festival attracted well over 5,000 people across

the two days and local shops and restaurants reported an

uplift in trade. This year’s event aims to attract even more

visitors to the city, and the team will be working with local

businesses to help encourage festival-goers to enjoy the

other retail and refreshment delights the city has to offer.

Entry to Lichfield Food Festival is free, and across the

two days people can also attend a wide range of free

demonstrations in the Lichfield Garrick, The Kitchen Shop

and at Tippers, where celebrity chef Rachel Green from Kill

it! Cook it! Eat it! will share her love of local produce. A

baking competition will also take place in the Three Spires

Shopping centre. The event is organised in partnership by

the Lichfield Garrick, Lichfield District and City Councils,

Lichfield Arts, Simon Smith Chef and Three Spires Shopping

centre. It’s sponsored by local businesses, including the

Co-op, The Kitchen Shop and Tippers.

Calling all restaurants, pubs, bars and

coffee shops

Be part of the £10 Menu Trail Over the festival weekend,

we’re keen to encourage visitors to sample the delights of

local restaurants, coffee shops and eateries. If you can

offer a ‘special Lichfield Food Festival £10 fixed price menu’

we’ll promote it at the festival, and in other promotional

material for free. Your menu could be a main course and a

glass of wine, a starter and a main, or a main and sweet -

it’s up to you.

Be part of the £3 Wine Trail We’re also keen to encourage

people to sample the quality drinks on offer in the city. If

you can offer a ‘Festival tipple’ for £3 a glass (you decide

the size of glass), we’ll promote you at the festival as well.

Register to take part at www.lichfieldfood.co.uk or email

esther.epstein@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call 01543 308778

Please note:

There will be some city

road closures over the

weekend.

Where next with the High Street

Innovation Fund money? Update from the Lichfield Town Team

Last year we were awarded £50,000 High Street Innovation Funding.

The aim of the funding is to help boost the city centre. Since then

local businesses have been helping to come up with ways to invest

the money. So far we:

... have spent around £3,000: Christmas lights, shopping crawl,

traders events and bunting the city.

… are currently investing £17,000 in projects: £2,000 branding*,

£6,000 on advertising and marketing, £3,000 on a website and

mobile app, £6,000 on city events.

… have set aside £5,000: Covent garden entertainment.

*Because Development Securities has offered to fund the branding

work (page 2), this leaves us with around £27,000 left to spend, so

the big question is what to invest the remainder of the money in?

A BID Workshop? At the last traders’ meeting at the Lichfield Garrick, we heard from

Julie Moss from the Birmingham City Partnership. Julie described

how Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have helped to boost

over 11 areas across Birmingham, including Broad Street, Colmore

Row and some shopping areas on the outskirts of the city. Julie

explained that a BID involves businesses paying a small amount on

top of their business rates each month, which is put into a shared

pot, and used to boost the city centre through a range of initiatives -

from hanging baskets, to marketing, signage and more. Find out

more about BIDs at www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/cityspeak and

download February 2013’s edition to read the article on page 7.

Julie also explained how setting up a BID is no small task - and that it

takes patience, determination and lots of legwork. Because of this,

and because we have no one in post to help set up a BID, one option

for us is to invest some of our remaining High Street Innovation

funding to appoint someone to help us set up a BID. That said,

deciding whether or not to spend some of our remaining funds on

this is a big decision, not least because if a BID isn’t successful, you

could argue that the funding invested in trying to set one up could

be lost or wasted. To help us decide whether or not we want to

invest money in trying to set up a BID, we are holding a BID

workshop in September. All city centre businesses will be invited to

the workshop, so watch this space for details or call Lizzie on 01543

308781 or email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

City Arcade Window Art Gallery set to launch

this summer Update from the Untitled Art Collective, Lichfield

District Council and the Lichfield Town Team

We’ve just heard the exciting news that, thanks to the landlord of the

empty units in City Arcade, and thanks to the Town Team, that is making

a small financial contribution to the project, we can turn the empty units

in the City Arcade (next to Michael’s and Friary Shoes) into a Window Art

Gallery this summer. As well as brightening up the windows with

stunning local art, members of the Untitled Art Collective, supported by

Celia Houghton, Lichfield District Council’s Arts Development Officer, will

be hosting weekend arts workshops to encourage more people to visit

the upper end of the city.

Simon Lumb of Friary Shoes said: “This is fantastic news. We’ve had

quite a few shops around us become vacant over the past months, and

the Window Art Gallery will brighten up the area and make it a more

enjoyable place to visit and shop. We’re looking forwards to seeing the

project unfold.”

To find out more, or get involved in the Window Art Gallery, display

your work, or help out, please email celia.houghton@lichfielddc.gov.uk

or call Celia on 01543 308224.

7

Thanks for

going Buy Local! By Louie Clegg, Best of Lichfield For those of you who have met

me, you will know how passionate

I am about supporting local retailers and businesses by

encouraging local shoppers to ‘Buy Local’. So it was

with great enthusiasm that, together with my partner

businesses across the city, we hosted our first ‘Buy

Local’ week (3 - 9 June)! We adorned shop-fronts with

blue and white bunting, posters and ‘Buy Local’ stickers

to ensure we were getting the message across to our

lovely Lichfield shoppers and residents about how

important it is to support our high street businesses to

drive our local economy right here in Lichfield.

The Farmers’ Market was great fun and our Buy Local

bags went down a storm. Then we did it all again at the

Three Spires Shopping centre, showing off our mini

During the week people who pledged to ‘Buy Local’

were entered into a daily prize draw to win £100 in a

local shop. One lucky winner Frankie Chapman can’t

wait to spend hers in the Kitchen Shop!

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of you

who supported us and let’s hope next year it will be

bigger and better! To support Buy Local or find out

more, visit www.thebestof.co.uk/thebestoflichfield or

call Louie on 01543 304441 or email

lichfield@thebestof.co.uk

Tempest Ford’s new website Update from Brian Carruthers at Tempest Ford

We are delighted to announce the launch of

www.tempest-ford.co.uk which promotes not only

our dealership, but also our beautiful city, and we

think the designers have done a super job. The site also

promotes retailers and traders who are working so

hard to help revitalise the city centre by taking part in

the Lichfield Chamber of Trade and Commerce, the

Town Team and the Business Connect team at Lichfield

Rugby Club, and who are all featured in the partners

section of the website. Finally, we have introduced a

section that promotes the wider city, including events,

shopping, eating, drinking and more. There’s no charge

to be included, so if you want to be featured, please let

us know. Email briancarruthers@tempest-ford.co.uk

or call the team on 01543 414451 for more details.

Heritage Weekend 21 & 22 September Update from Visit Lichfield

The Heritage Weekend is back again this year, and

attractions across the city will be throwing their doors

open for free to encourage people to enjoy the delights

of the city. If you want to promote a special offer to

Heritage Weekend goers, email emily.robinson@

lichfielddc.gov.uk

Defence Discount Service - a great way to get

your business noticed Update from Cllr Bernard Derrick, Armed Forces Liaison Member at

Lichfield District Council

Over the coming years, thousands of new service personnel will be based

at the new Defence Medical Centre that is being built on the site of

Whittington Barracks. We are keen to make sure the new personnel and

their families are welcomed to our district, and can enjoy the delights

the local area has to offer, which is why we have been working hard to

find ways to build links with the new centre and its personnel.

We’re also keen to find ways for local businesses to benefit from the

new development, which is why we’re pleased to share with you a

scheme called The Defence Discount Service which gives local

businesses the chance to offer their goods and services to service

personnel and their families.

Adding an offer is really easy - here’s how:

1. Decide on the discount/promotion you want to offer.

2. Log onto www.defencediscountservice.co.uk

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to where it says Supporters.

4. Click on Offer a discount under Supporters.

5. Fill in the online form, adding details of your company and discount,

and press Add Company.

6. Once you have filled in your form, your offer will go live on the

website and you will get a confirmation email.

7. Make sure all your staff know about

your offer and show them the card

(right) so they recognise it when

people come in.

If you have any questions, contact the

Defence Discount Service team on

01509 233446 or email contact@

defencediscountservice.co.uk

July events

4 Heart of England in Bloom judging day

4 - 14 Lichfield Festival

6 Lichfield Festival Market, The Close & Dam Street

6 & 7 Cars in the Park, Beacon Park

12 - 14 Fuse Festival, Beacon Park

16 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting

7.30pm, George Hotel Interested in joining? Come along!

19 Schools break up

21 Sunday closure of Bird Street (old Woolworths car

park) to allow for line repainting and maintenance

26 Lichfield Rugby Club Business Connect Breakfast

Meeting Call Tempest Ford on 01543 414415 for details

August events

10 Fake Festival, Beacon Park

23 Lichfield Rugby Club Business Connect Breakfast

Meeting Call Tempest Ford on 01543 414415 for details

26 August Bank Holiday

31 / 1 Sept Lichfield Food Festival

September events

7 Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park

7 Sheriff’s Ride www.lichfield.gov.uk for more info

17 Chamber of Trade & Commerce meeting

7.30pm, George Hotel Interested in joining? Come along!

20 Lichfield Rugby Club Business Connect Breakfast

Meetings Call Tempest Ford on 01543 414415 for details

21 & 22 Heritage Weekend & Dr Johnson Birthday

Celebrations (Saturday)

Get your business noticed and sponsor

this year’s Proms in Beacon Park Update from Lichfield District Council

Thousands of people crowd to Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park

every year to enjoy an evening of food, drink and fantastic music.

As the night draws in, the big screens either side of the stage

shine out in the dark, promoting a range of local and regional

businesses - in style! And, from just £250, what better and more

cost effective way is there for you to advertise your business to

thousands of potential local customers?

What’s more, when you sponsor proms, you can be proud that

your contribution will be used to help host this year’s event,

which is only possible due to the kindness and generosity of its

many sponsors and the district council.

If you want to come along on the night, it’s free to attend, but if

you would like to entertain your family or your customers in style,

why not book a table next to the stage for just £10 per head*.

Email rhiannon.brearley@lichfielddc.gov.uk to find out

about all the opportunities on offer. And, don’t forget to put

Saturday 7 September in your diary and come along to

Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park. Visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

lichfieldproms for more info! *Advance booking essential

The editorial team Partners and organisations

across the city provide articles for City Speak. These are brought

together and published by the communications team at Lichfield

District Council. If you would like to include an article in future

issues, email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Distribution City Speak is distributed free to businesses

across Lichfield City. If you are not on the mailing list and would

like to be added, email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

When is it distributed? We aim to issue six editions

of City Speak a year. In between these times we update

www.cityspeak.info

Feedback We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading City Speak

and that it’s been useful to you. If you have any feedback on or

want us to include particular topics in future editions, please

email elizabeth.thatcher@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Keep up to date with events,

or promote yours for free in

What’s On What’s On is the events guide

for Lichfield City and district. It is produced

by Visit Lichfield and you can list up to five

events for free. It is distributed to most local

homes twice a year. Email

emily.robinson@lichfielddc.gov.uk

8

City Speak is brought to you in partnership by Lichfield District Council, the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, the TownSafe

Partnership, Lichfield City Council and other city partners.

Works to Bird Street car park

& Minster Pool Bridge Maintenance work on Bird Street car park will take place on

Sunday 21 July and the car park will be closed all day.

Works to Minster Pool Bridge are also planned by the highways

team in the coming months and we’ll keep you posted on

www.cityspeak.info