Altrincham Business Improvement District (BID), the organisation behind Visit Altrincham, is proud to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of investment, collaboration, and sustained success in supporting the town centre, its businesses, and the wider community.

Since its establishment, Altrincham BID has played a pivotal role in driving forward a shared vision for the town, one that champions economic vitality, community engagement, and a vibrant, welcoming environment for all. Over the past ten years, the BID has delivered an ambitious programme of initiatives and projects that have helped position Altrincham as one of the UK’s leading town centres.

Among its many achievements, Altrincham BID has contributed to the town winning the prestigious Great British High Street Award in 2018 and being named Best Place to Live in the North West by The Sunday Times on three separate occasions. The town has also proudly secured Purple Flag status, recognising its safe, diverse, and thriving evening and night-time economy.

The BID has demonstrated excellence within its sector, achieving British BIDs accreditation and receiving multiple Best BID awards at the Britain in Bloom Awards. In recognition of its commitment to sustainability, Altrincham BID was also honoured with Visa’s Let’s Celebrate Towns Award for Sustainability.

Community safety and wellbeing have remained a key priority, with the BID establishing the Street Angels initiative to support visitors during busy evenings. Meanwhile, the town centre’s appearance has been consistently enhanced through BID-funded jet washing, litter picking, and planting schemes, ensuring a clean, attractive environment for residents, visitors, and businesses alike.

Events have been central to Altrincham BID’s success in driving footfall and creating a strong sense of place. A year-round programme includes much-loved large-scale events such as the Christmas Lights Switch-On and Lantern Parades. The ‘Trooping the Corgis’ event, held in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, attracted a significant number of visitors to the town and generated extensive local, regional, national, and international media coverage.  In 2025 the BID established A Taste of Altrincham, a celebration of the town’s thriving food and drink scene.

The BID has also played an active role in supporting and promoting large-scale events, including the Manchester Marathon, Altrincham 10K and the Tour of Britain. In 2019, Altrincham hosted the start of the final stage, and in 2023, the town welcomed the Grand Depart.

Overall, Altrincham has experienced sustained year-on-year growth in footfall across the decade.  Over the course of 10-years Altrincham’s annual footfall has grown by a million.  This has been supported by destination marketing through VisitAltrincham.com and Visit Altrincham’s social media, and more recently the launch of the new Visit Altrincham App.

The BID’s leadership has also been recognised at a national level. Former BID Director Elizabeth Faulkner was named Inspirational Leader of the Year at the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) Awards in 2019, reflecting the strength of vision and dedication behind the organisation’s work.

Mandy White, Altrincham BID’s current BID Director explained:
“We are incredibly proud to be celebrating 10 years of Altrincham BID and everything that has been achieved during that time. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who was involved in establishing the BID, as well as all those who have supported us throughout the years particularly the voluntary BID Board Members. Our town’s fantastic businesses continue to be at the heart of everything we do, and we are very grateful for their ongoing support. We also want to thank our partners, stakeholders, and previous team and board members whose collaboration and commitment have helped make Altrincham the thriving, vibrant place it is today.”

As Altrincham BID looks ahead to the future, it remains committed to building on this strong foundation, continuing to support local businesses, enhance the town centre experience, and ensure Altrincham remains a destination of choice for years to come.