The Business Improvement District (BID )was introduced to the town five years ago.
I have encountered a number of local businesses that were not happy with having to pay this levy, effectively reducing their budget to invest in alternative marketing services to help promote their businesses, but were contracted to pay for these services.
Businesses in the town centre pay an extra levy for the service, and the money is used to organise major festivals, pay for decorations and to promote the town as a tourist destination.
Now it is crunch time for local traders as they decide whether or not to renew the BID service, which is a not-for-profit organisation guided by an elected board of directors made up of retailers representing different sectors in the town.
See the full article in the Courier here.
