Fears over BID plan - Fitzrovia risks being turned into a place of “uniforms and uniformity”- claims author Anna Minton

Published: 18 March 2011
by CONRAD LANDIN

PLANS to create a Business Improvement District (BID) in Fitzrovia risk turning the area into a place of “uniforms and uniformity”, an acclaimed writer warns.

Anna Minton, the author of Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the Twenty-First Century City, said it would be a “terrible tragedy” if the plans by the Fitzrovia Partnership get the go-ahead. 

BIDs aim to attract improved investment and raise the profile of inner-city areas through partnerships between local businesses that help fund initiatives from marketing campaigns to street cleaning schemes. They are notable for their use of uniformed private security officers.

Ms Minton has argued that the districts can lead to areas losing their identity in pursuit of maximum market value.

She said: “Fitzrovia has such a rich cultural history and a BID could make it much more sterile – an area of uniforms and uniformity.”

A referendum of local businesses will approve or reject the proposal when the application is officially lodged later this year.

The Fitzrovia Partnership declined to comment.