Falmouth Business Improvement District
Falmouth now has an exciting opportunity to develop a BID, a business led initiative which gives local organisations the power to ‘raise funds locally to be spent locally’ on improving their own trading environment. The funds are generated through every business within a defined boundary contributing 1% of their rateable value, money which is then managed by the businesses themselves through a new private sector led company.
BIDs are viewed by many businesses as a fair and affordable way of creating a ring-fenced fund to pay for new facilities or services. A BID for Falmouth would generate almost £100,000 per year for 5 years.
The BID development process starts by consultation - organisations are consulted on what improvements they would be prepared to pay for. The results of the consultation lead to a project programme with outline budget being prepared. A ballot is then held where businesses vote for or against the proposed programme. The BID will only proceed if a majority of businesses vote for it.
There are now over 60 UK BID schemes and many more being developed, many in town centres like Falmouth. Truro’s BID started on 1 October 2007 and has already delivered a successful Christmas Festival. There is clear evidence that nationally, BIDs have been successful leading to increased footfall, higher spending, more attractive, cleaner, safer and vibrant towns.
A private sector focused steering group of 25 people from all types of business across Falmouth have been meeting since October 2007 to explore the possibility of developing a BID for Falmouth, a scheme that would be managed by business for business and could start as early as spring 2009.
We now want to hear from you - what do you feel about the idea of a BID and if you support the principle, how do you think the money should be spent? You are invited to have your say.
To find out more, click on the links on the right hand side of this page.
