The pilot programme for Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) has emerged from a continuing need to revitalise traditional high streets and town centres. High streets and town centres have faced arduous challenges in recent years, with the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21 accentuating existing trends such as the increasing shift to online retail, and accelerating the demise of traditional department stores.
With the support of Power to Change, the idea of CIDs is now being tested in seven locations in England. The aim of this pilot work is to explore exactly what a CID might be when the theory is translated into practice, how CIDs develop and operate, how they overcome barriers and challenges, and how the idea of CIDs fits within the national policy context.
This report summarises emerging learning from the first phase of the CID programme, and outlines key questions for the next phase of research.
