BID approved for Liverpool Commercial District
BUSINESSES in Liverpool’s commercial district have voted in favour of the area gaining Business Improvement District (BID) status.
The result was announced at Bruntwood’s Plaza building last night by Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, following a month-long campaign led by the Commercial District Partnership.
The approval now means that an additional charge will be levied on local businesses which will create a £3m pot of additional funding over five years. This will be used to improve street furniture and signage as well as for marketing and events to boost the area’s profile. Some 60% of the businesses in the affected area voted in favour of the BID.
It will be Liverpool’s second Business Improvement District following the formation of a BID for the city centre area five years ago.
Cllr Kennedy said: “One of my priorities is to give businesses a greater say over the management of the city centre, so I am delighted that local firms have voted in favour of creating a BID.
“Creating a stronger commercial district is crucial to Liverpool’s ambitions to attract jobs and investment, and this result shows a blossoming revival of confidence among Liverpool’s private sector.
“It will mean companies have a greater influence over how they would like the business district to look and feel, with additional resources available to make those ambitions a reality.”
Paul Rice, chief executive of Liverpool Commercial Development Partnership, said: “This is a fantastic result for us. We’ve all worked really hard over the past five years to put projects in place to improve the area, and we can now look forward to seeing the commercial district continue to thrive.
“The ‘yes’ vote means that we can implement the many improvements laid down in the business plan such as creating a safer, cleaner environment, improving transport access and attracting investment.”
The new BID is bounded by Leeds Street in the north and James Street in the south, and runs west-east from The Strand to Pall Mall.
