Businesses across Swindon town centre, Old Town, the Railway Quarter and North Star will vote on proposals for a Business Improvement District that could bring \u00a32.5m of additional investment over five years.<\/p>\n
The ballot opens on 6 November and closes on 3 December.<\/p>\n
If approved, the BID would raise more than \u00a3500,000 per year to fund improvements beyond existing public services, including a dedicated street team, support to tackle anti-social behaviour, environmental improvements, and events to attract more visitors.<\/p>\n
Laura James, chair of the Shadow Swindon BID Board, said: “Businesses have told us loud and clear that they want cleaner, safer streets, more people visiting and a stronger voice in shaping the future of the areas where they trade.<\/p>\n
“This BID is about taking back control and putting businesses in the driving seat. It gives us the opportunity to stop simply talking about the improvements we need and start delivering them, with over \u00a32.5m to invest over five years.”<\/p>\n
The proposed BID covers four priorities: cleaner, greener and safer streets; events and activities to increase footfall; promoting Swindon as a destination; and support for local businesses and employers.<\/p>\n
More than 330 BIDs operate across the UK, including in Bath, Bristol, Reading, Winchester and Cheltenham.<\/p>\n
Cllr Matthew Vallender, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, planning and regeneration, said: “The Council will continue to play its part in improving the town centre and surrounding areas, it should be somewhere people are proud to visit, where businesses can thrive and where there are more reasons to keep coming back.<\/p>\n
“A BID would put local businesses at the heart of that work, giving them a stronger voice and dedicated funding for extra improvements, and events and activities that support our local economy.”<\/p>\n
The Shadow BID Board will host information events over the coming weeks to help businesses learn more about the proposals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ballot runs until 3 December on BID proposals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":48726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"coauthors":[160],"class_list":["post-48724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-featured-story","tag-wiltshire"],"yoast_head":"\n