York businesses vote ‘yes’ for a BID

BUSINESSES in York have voted ‘yes’ to a Business Improvement District for the city centre, after a year of consultation.

The vote received a higher than average turnout of 42%.

76% of businesses, by number, said yes to the BID, and 80% of businesses by rateable value agreed to it.

The BID will be business-led, but has the backing of City of York Council and York’s destination management organisation Make it York.

This means that a not-for-profit BID company will be formed, and a £4m fund will be created from the proceeds of the BID levy to spend on projects over the next five years.

There will be a 1% levy on the rateable value of each business premise in the city centre.

Adam Sinclair, York BID chairman, and Managing Director of the Mulberry Hall fine china store in Stonegate, said: “I am delighted so many businesses and professions have voted to back our proposal.

“This gives the York BID a clear mandate to make improvements to York city centre over the next five years.

“We will now respond to our members and focus on street cleaning, rubbish collection, safety, the public realm, car parking, Christmas lights, street events and the evening economy. York city centre is ambitious but needs to inspire and satisfy its marketplace and thereby attract fresh investment.”

City council leader, Cllr Chris Steward, said: “I am delighted that businesses have voted for a Business Improvement District for York. We know this will bring many benefits to improving the quality of our city centre.

“I look forward to working with the BID company to ensure the centre of York continues to be a successful place to do business. Inevitably there were some businesses that did not vote for the proposals as they were understandably concerned about an additional cost. I am particularly focused on showing them the money will be a great investment.”

Steve Brown, managing director of make it York, said: “Make It York is delighted that the BID has got

the green light. We will work tirelessly to ensure that Make It York and the BID complement each other and work as a really close partnership. It is a fabulous opportunity to further develop the York experience for both residents and visitors.”

The team will now begin setting up the York BID company, recruiting a BID director and preparing to start delivering services from next April.

 

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