Business Improvement District seeks yes vote to enable another five-year term

Businesses, landlords and property owners in Brighouse are being asked to back the town and vote “yes” in a ballot on whether the town’s BID should continue for a further five years.

The BID (Business Improvement District) launched in April 2019 after securing a yes vote to promote Brighouse as a destination, support town centre businesses, shops and venues, and ensure a calendar of events, activities and attractions encouraged people to visit and shop.

As the five-year term draws to a close, the team behind the BID are asking businesses for a further five-years from 2024 to 2029 and outlining plans of how they will use investment generated from Brighouse businesses.

A postal vote, conducted by Calderdale Council, will be held between Thursday 26 October and the formal ballot date of Thursday 23 November. Owners of all non-domestic buildings and land within the BID boundary are eligible to vote.

Three objectives are being set, through which the programme of investment will be focused and delivered:

• A Vibrant, Clean & Safe Town – backing Brighouse to be a place where businesses want to invest and those living and working nearby want to visit, spend time and money, and return to regularly.

• A Welcoming, Lively & Friendly Destination – backing Brighouse to be a place where people from across Calderdale, Yorkshire and beyond choose to visit, attracted by events, shops and venues, and encouraged to return by the positive experience they receive.

• A Place Where Business Can Thrive – backing Brighouse to be a place where the businesses of today can grow and the businesses of tomorrow want to be by providing insight, information and support and ensure the voice of all businesses in every part of the town centre is heard.

The area covered by the proposed BID for 2024-2029 will have the same boundaries as the existing district.

All properties and businesses within this, with a rateable value of above £2,000, will be asked to invest a levy of 1.99% of that rateable value in year one.

Most within the BID zone have a rateable value of less than £25,000 which means their levy payment would be less than £10 per week, while over half would pay 55p per day.

For that investment, £120,000 a year would be generated to be spent in the town.

Lesley Adams and Euan Noble, co-chairs of Brighouse BID, said: “Brighouse outperforms other similar towns across West Yorkshire and around the country, and we’re confident the role of the BID, and our Visit Brighouse events, promotion and marketing, has a strong and positive impact.

“We’re asking for those eligible to vote to back Brighouse and vote ‘yes’ when they receive their ballot papers.

“The BID runs events like the 1940s Weekend and Christmas Lights Switch-On, Artisan Markets and Brighouse Gift Card – all of those activities would stop if the BID stopped.

“Other schemes not run by the BID, such as the Brighouse Town Deal developments, Wellholme Park flood alleviation scheme and parking charge increases, would continue but with no local voice of business to ensure our views are listened to.”