Career Story
Bringing new life into tired spaces with over 20 years’ experience of place management.
How it all started
Andrew Cooper’s passion for places started in the school geography classroom and the influence of his childhood home of Nottingham. Since working, he has always been drawn to roles that involved towns and cities. What makes him tick is bringing different elements of the community to work together for the success of all.
High Street Task Force Expert
Andrew is an appointed Expert for the High Street Task Force, which was commissioned by the government in 2019 as part of its Plan for the High Street and in response to recommendations of an expert panel chaired by the highly successful entrepreneur Sir John Timpson.
Experts will support high streets directly by providing a range of support services that form part of the wider Task Force programme and in doing so help local authorities transform their high streets.
The journey so far
Andrew first gained interest in place management, while working at Boots head office in Nottingham over 20 years ago. As part of the company’s Corporate Affairs team, he gained an understanding of town centre policy and corporate social responsibility issues around the high street, as well as regeneration and the creation of City Centre Partnerships.
After 13 years at Boots, he then went on to head up the Stratford-upon-Avon Town Management Partnership, which later became Stratforward BID (Business Improvement District) under his direction.
Following 5 successful years in Stratford-upon-Avon, Andrew spent 8 years in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath. As City Centre Manager, he created a public/private partnership, bringing new investment and a collaborative spirit to the city. This laid the foundations for Bath BID, formed under his leadership in 2011. He guided the Bath BID through two successful ballots.
In 2015, Andrew became the Chief Executive of Leeds BID, the largest BID outside London and the third largest in the UK. With the help of his excellent team Andrew gained an astounding renewal endorsement of 94% from the businesses in 2019.
Senior Fellow of the Institute of Place Management
He was recently elected a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Place Management. The award is in recognition of his impressive achievements in the Business Improvement District (BID) industry and support for the Institute of Place Management, in particular leading the formation and impact of The BID Foundation in 2018.
A passion to support other BIDs
Andrew enjoys leading the team at Leeds BID, while supporting BIDs across the UK in his other roles. His passion is to invigorate the businesses he works with to give a renewed vision for the place they operate in.
Over recent years, he has supported BIDs in Shrewsbury, Salisbury, Wakefield, Harrogate, Cheltenham, Bradford, Otley and York amongst others.
He has spoken at several conferences in America and Canada by the Downtown Association, which serves BIDs across North America.
He has an excellent knowledge of tourism, having worked in two of the busiest tourist destinations in UK – Stratford-upon-Avon and Bath. He also has extensive experience of Montenegro and the UNESCO World Heritage site and tourist destination of Kotor.
Andrew currently lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire with his wife of 15 years, Melanie, and is father to one daughter, aged 14. When he can, he enjoys getting lost in a good film – and trying not to get lost when out exploring the countryside in his beloved 1964 Wolseley Hornet.
Testimonials
Andrew is an inspirational leader. He is positive, warm and infectiously enthusiastic. He is a keen promoter of efficient and effective corporate governance and he gets things done. He is well-liked by the business community he serves and is a real asset to the Bath BID. He is great to know and work with.
Andrew and I have worked together since 2009. Andrew has great vision combined with the ability of creating clear plans to execute his vision. Andrew is a privilege to work with and I’m proud of what we have both achieved together over the years.
Image credits: Leeds BID, Andy Tryner & Bath Tourism Plus
Address
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK
Telephone
0796 007 4311
andrew@orangemaid.com
Copyright © 2021 Andrew Cooper