Here at the BID, we know that sometimes you just need to know who to call to sort out issues that can arise, from graffiti removal to antisocial behaviour. Below you will find information on who does what in the city.
Business Support
Promotion on MyCanterbury
A BID initiative, created to promote information, deals and discounts and inspirational ideas that footfall and spend to the city. Social media platforms, a discount card, newsletters and printed city guides are all part of the MyCanterbury service, to help you showcase your business to Canterbury’s residents, students and visitors. Visit the pages HERE
Business Rates and BID Levy
Business rates and the BID Levy are collected locally by East Kent Services (EKS) on behalf of Canterbury City Council.
Automated payment: 01227 862 427
BID Levy queries: 01227 862 316 or 01227 862 326
If you are moving in or out of a property click here
To sign up to e-billing for your BID Levy click here
If anything else changes with your business, you’ll need to contact the Business Rates team. This includes:
- if the property changes from empty to occupied or occupied to empty
- if the rateable value of your business changes
- if you’re getting an allowance for partial occupation and the occupied part of the property changes in size
- if something changes that could affect your business rates relief or exemption from paying business rates
If you think your business is entitled to the small business rate relief, but are not receiving it, complete a ‘Contact the Business Rates Team’ online form and they will review and if applicable, award the discount.
Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce
The only accredited Chamber in the county with over 1,200 members in Kent and Medway
01233 503 838 or kentinvictachamber.co.uk
Federation of Small Business (FSB)
The FSB is dedicated to helping small businesses achieve their ambitions.
01622 688 134 or fsb.org.uk
Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
For employees and employers in England, Scotland and Wales. Find advice on employment law, HR processes and good practice at work: Work and employment law advice | Acas
You can also contact the Acas helpline.
Council Services
Contact Details | Services | |
Kent County Council | 03000 418181 Website | Trading Goods with the EU Business Support Business loans and funding Business licences and registration Health and safety advice Report a problem on a road or pavement Trading Standards Grow your business |
Canterbury City Council | 01227 862000 Website | Bins and waste Business and investment Consultations Environmental Health Licences and permissions Parking and roads Pavement licences Planning and building A Boards – Contact Canterbury City Council. Businesses must comply with the KCC requirements here. |
Emergencies
Terrorism
The threat of terror attacks must be regarded as ever present, you can check the current threat levels in the terrorism and national emergencies on the GOV.UK website .
You can find more information on what to look out for on the MI5 website and what to do in the event of a terrorist attack on the National Counter Terrorism Security Office website.
If you’ve seen or heard something that could potentially be related to terrorism, trust your instincts and report it. You can do so by calling the police in confidence on 0800 789 321 or reporting it online. In an emergency call 999.
Major incidents: City Centre evacuation and Business Continuity
Major incidents cannot always be predicted and the response depends on the nature of the threat. The City Council leads on multi-agency planning, and all responding agencies have individual response plans in place. It is also recommended that all businesses ensure they have Business Continuity plans to help with the recovery from a potential incident.
For more information, please contact the City Council’s Emergency Planning Officer via emergency@canterbury.gov.uk
Emergency Trauma Pack
By having an Emergency Trauma Packs, first responders, businesses, and members of the public will have the tools readily-available to respond in the event of knife assault, road traffic collision, terrorist attack. Each pack is stocked with a collection of specialist medical equipment to treat casualties. The locations of Trauma Packs:
- Marlowe Theatre (by the box office)
- Canterbury Cathedral (Constable’s Lodge No 1)
- Canterbury Cathedral (Postern gate at top of Burgate)
Defibrillators
In case of cardiac arrest, you need to call 999. Location of city centre defibrillators:
- Cathedral x 1
- Marlowe Theatre x 2
- McDonalds x 1
- Canterbury Council x 1
- Friends Meeting House x 1
- Unicorn Pub x 1
- The Beaney x 1
- Whitefriars x 1
- The Hampton by Hilton x 1
- Burgate Dental Practice x 1
Homelessness
It is common to see people sleeping rough in the city centre. Numbers have increased nationally in recent years and Canterbury has seen that growth locally. However, a significant effort is made in the city to support people who find themselves in this situation.
In addition to the City Council, Canterbury has two organisations which deal with this issue, Catching Lives who run the Day Centre at the East Station and Porchlight which manages a range of programmes and accommodation schemes to help vulnerable individuals in the city and across the county. To donate to both these excellent charities click here.
If you are concerned about an individual you see sleeping rough in the city or have issues with persistent rough sleeping on or near your premises then please report it via Street Link .
Security & Crime
Contacting the Police – see also their Points of Contact Information Poster
When to call 101 – Call 101 when reporting a crime and other concerns that don’t require an emergency response. For example:
- Your property has been damaged
- You suspect drug use or dealing
- Give the police information on crime
- Speak to the police about a general enquiry
Calls to 101 are answered by police officers and staff in the control room of the local police force. This ensures staff with local knowledge can answer and deal with calls appropriately. These reports can also be made using the Kent Police Online Reporting Tool.
If you prefer to report a crime anonymously you can visit Crime Stoppers
When to call 999 – Always call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened.
Hate Crime
Crimes committed against someone because of their disability, transgender-identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation are hate crimes and should be reported to the police here: https://www.report-it.org.uk/your_police_force
Hate crimes can include:
- threatening behaviour
- assault
- robbery
- damage to property
- inciting others to commit hate crimes
- harassment
- online abuse
District Watch
The local Business Crime Prevention partnership, District Watch operates a membership based radio link scheme across the city centre to reduce crime and keep the city safe.
canterburywatch@btconnect.com / 07823 442 110 / canterburydistrictwatch.co.uk
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
Anti-Social Behaviour takes many forms, it can be aggressive, noisy or abusive behaviour to neighbourhood; disturbances involving drugs or animals, urination, harassment and intimidation.
If you witness ASB, the best thing to do is to report every single incident to the police and the council so they can build a case and collect evidence. Use the links below to do so:
https://www.kent.police.uk/ro/report/asb/asb/report-antisocial-behaviour/
https://www.canterbury.gov.uk/environmental-problems/report-anti-social-behaviour/
You can also send an email reporting ASB concerns directly to the Council’s Community Safety Unit at csu@canterbury.gov.uk but always contact the police and the council via their online forms first.
Street Begging is common in the city centre and is likely to be made an offence under the new Public Space Protection Order(PSPO). The organisations who work with people on the street all say that giving to beggars, while a matter of individual choice, actually does more harm than good, enabling individuals to continue lifestyles, often with significant substance abuse, rather than seeking help and support.
Modern Slavery
Is an unseen crime and if you suspect it you can contact the charities:
Street Cleaning, Waste Removal & Trade Waste
Canenco is the City Council’s contractor for all street cleaning and waste collection in the District, including the city centre. Trade waste is the responsibility of individual businesses.
Canenco also offer a graffiti cleaning service on behalf of the City Council, which is free for the first two hours or 5 square metres up to two times a year. To do so, they need a waiver from you which you can fill in and return to help@canen.co and enquiries@canterburybid.co.uk. You can also apply for this service online using CCC’s Graffiti Removal Reporting Tool. If you see someone doing graffiti you should call 999 and report it as a crime in progress. You can also report problems to Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
To report a problem with cleansing in the city centre, including graffiti, over-flowing bins or poor cleansing, or safety issues (e.g. discarded hypodermic needles) go online to canterbury.gov.uk/clean or call 01227 947860. Alternatively you can email the council directly at streetsceneenforcement@canterbury.gov.uk for waste crime, littering, fly tipping and waste management.
Transport & Access
Car parking
Car parking is owned and managed by the City Council. The following Canterbury car parks have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). Register for an account here.
- Castle Row
- Castle Street multi-storey
- Longport
- Millers Field
- Pound Lane
- Queningate
- St Radigunds
- Station Road West multi-storey
- Watling Street
- Park and Ride sites
Business Permit – If you work in Canterbury and need your vehicle as part of your daily job, you can apply for a business parking permit. Your employer will need to be registered for business rates. To find out more click here.
Canterbury City Centre Security Bollard Scheme:
The City Centre Bollards Scheme went live on the 23 November 2020 in order to protect the pedestrian zone and city centre safety. Deliveries to residents living in and businesses trading within the pedestrianised zone will only be allowed between 4pm and 10.30am every day.
Registration is not required to access or to load/unload outside of 10.30am-4pm. Instead, access can be requested via the intercom at the bollard site.
- General information relating to the bollards can be found at www.canterbury.gov.uk/bollards
- Emergency access between 10.30am and 4pm can be requested here: canterbury.gov.uk/citycentreaccess.
The process for safe entrance/exit is:
- One vehicle at a time
- Use to intercom to request access.
- You do not need permission to exit.
- Wait for the light to turn green before moving over the lowered bollard and the bollard will rise immediately behind you as you cross over.
- DO NOT TAILGATE
- Use the intercom if there is a problem
General traffic regulation queries:
- Canterbury City Council: 01227 862 000
- Kent County Council (Highways Authority): 03000 41 81 81
City Centre Security Bollards: Taxis/PHV’s
There are Canterbury city centre pedestrian zone restrictions relating to taxis/PHV already in place. The security bollards help enforce these:
Operationally these are:
10.30-16.00 (as well as at all other times) Taxis/PHV only allowed into the pedestrian zone if:
- Collecting / dropping off a person registered with the council as a Blue Badge (BB) holder who lives within the Pedestrian Zone
- Collecting / dropping off a person to the Cathedral Gate Hotel (details given daily by CGH of their guests)
For both of the above situations the taxi driver will have to provide the name of their passenger and it will be checked before access is given.
Outside of 10.30-16.00 (As well as the above) Taxis/PHV only allowed into the pedestrian zone if:
- Collecting / dropping of a person who is a Blue Badge holder.
The driver may be asked for further information to help us validate their request for access, such as asking for the BB number, holder’s name, issuing authority and to show the BB to a CCTV camera. We may also ask for the driver’s name and licence number to retrospectively check details.
At no time is a taxi/PHV permitted to park or wait in the Pedestrian Zone. They must immediately leave the pedestrian zone once they have completed the activity they were permitted access for.
The council will monitor taxi/PHV movements and any suspected breach by a taxi/PHV will be reported to Licensing to review.
Further details relating to the pedestrian zone can be found at www.canterbury.gov.uk/bollards