Ever found yourself thinking – what is Hello Dorking?
Well, it’s the town’s Business Improvement District (BID) – an independent organisation funded by local businesses to support Dorking’s economy, high street and sense of place.
We represent over 300 businesses across the town – they fund the BID, shape its priorities, and are the very reason we exist. Our first responsibility is to them.
So what does that look like in practice?
- Promoting Dorking as a place to visit, shop and spend time
- Delivering town-centre events and campaigns
- Improving public spaces through planting, signage and projects
- Supporting businesses with training, networking and advice
- Working behind the scenes with partners to advocate for the town
You can find out more about the projects we deliver here.
Some of this is very visible – you’ll see it every day if you’re local (sometimes without even knowing it!), some of it happens quietly in the background. But all of it is about making Dorking a stronger place to do business.
Dorking’s biggest events – like the Christmas Festival, VE Day celebrations and town trails are projects planned, funded and delivered by Hello Dorking (often with partners like community groups, volunteers and local authorities). They can take months of planning to bring to life.
One thing we’re often asked about is our social media and here’s our approach:
We represent hundreds of businesses in Dorking, and featuring them is our priority, along with our campaigns and events to keep things balanced and interesting. You can see the area we represent here.
We’ll happily feature organisations not in the BID who are running an event or activity in the BID area that brings people to our lovely town centre – we’ll share them to our stories, you just have to tag us! And if you’re a BID business with something exciting to share, just give us a shout.
And finally – a reminder that Hello Dorking is a small team of real people, doing a lot behind the scenes because we really care about this town and the businesses in it. Kind, constructive communication always helps – and we’re always happy to hear your ideas. Just drop us a line to info@hellodorking.com if you have any questions, ideas or if you’re a BID business and you’d like to feature on our social media.
