Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID) is seeking a new manager with the departure Richard Wilcox, who has held the position for almost 15 years and will leave at the end of April.

Richard played lead roles in nationally significant events such as the Tall Ships Regatta, which won UK Best Event at industry awards last year, and National Armed Forces Day Cornwall 2023.

He also oversaw regional firsts such as free public space Wi-Fi, named Best UK Digital Project, and the official town website Falmouth.co.uk; and co-ordinated the campaign which saw Falmouth win the Government’s Great British High Street award for Best Coastal Town.

At a regional and national level, he represented Falmouth by chairing both the South West BIDs Group and Cornwall Towns Forum, and influenced high-street policy in Whitehall on the Association of Towns and City Management’s (ATCM) National Advisory Council.

Falmouth BID is a not-for-profit business-led initiative that has funded and delivered destination marketing, a strong events calendar and public realm improvements. It has won national awards and receives ongoing recognition for its proactive partnership with Falmouth Town Council.

In December 2023, more than 400 member businesses voted for a fourth five-year term of investment, meaning the BID is currently delivering a £1 million range of projects until 2029.

The Falmouth BID board - chaired by Rob Holmes, director of business operations at Falmouth University - is proactively recruiting for a new manager. In the meantime, Cornwall BID consultant and Newham BID manager Mel Richardson will help to ensure the continuation of current BID work including marketing, events and cruise ships support.

“The board is incredibly grateful for Richard’s dynamic and expert delivery, which has continually done Falmouth proud, raised its profile and encouraged critical spend and investment,” said Rob. “We wish Richard the very best in his future career.”

Enquiries should be directed to [email protected]