‘Yes’ vote secures Business Improvement District for another five years

Brighouse’s shops, venues and businesses have voted “yes” to a further five years of a Business Improvement District (BID), securing £650,000 of investment for the town.

61% of businesses who voted by number were in favour of the BID continuing until 2029, a ‘yes’ vote of 82% by rateable value – the measurement of business size. For the BID ballot to be in favour of continuing, both these had to have a majority.

The vote means a second BID term will run from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029 with three objectives 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 welcome and 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 every business 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 (2024/2025).

The ballot, carried out by post by Calderdale Council, ran between 26 October and 23 November. Businesses and property owners in the town were asked whether to continue with the BID for a further five-year term.

To succeed, a ‘yes’ vote was required both on numbers voting but also on rateable value of businesses. The result was:

• Yes – 61% by numbers & 82% by rateable value
• No – 39% by numbers & 18% by rateable value

 Lesley Adams, co-chair of the Brighouse BID, said: “This is a great result for Brighouse and I am pleased businesses, shops and venues have seen the benefit of having the BID for our town for a further five years.

“I am acutely aware that the levy paid, no matter what amount, is an additional cost on hard-pressed business owners but we will work as hard as we can to ensure by ringfencing the money – in Brighouse, for Brighouse – each and every business sees the benefit of the BID.

“We look forward to developing and setting out more of the detailed plans from April 2024 in the coming weeks, and will also want to ensure every part of our town centre is represented in the decisions that will be taken.”