Member Article

Now or never for CH1ChesterBID drive

Within days Chester will know whether plans to create a Business Improvement District (BID) in the city have been given the green light.

Throughout June, city centre businesses have been voting on proposals to bring a BID to Chester, which will raise around £2.5million to fund wide-ranging improvements. The deadline for ballot papers to be received is 5pm Monday June 30th and on July 1st the results will be announced and the city will finally learn the outcome.

The official announcement will mark the end of months of intensive campaigning by CH1ChesterBID Company ­­– the team behind the drive – and as the voting draws to a close, the BID and volunteers have even been collecting the last ballot papers and couriering them to ensure they arrive safely.

BID Chairman Paul Daniels said: “We’ve had fantastic support from businesses of all shapes and sizes but there’s no room for complacency.

“We know that ballots in other cities have come down to just a handful of votes, so it is vitally important that BID businesses vote ‘Yes’ and don’t rely on others to bring a BID to Chester.

“Without the BID, Chester will continue to fall further behind its competitors until it ends up being forgotten. We can’t let that happen, but we’re running out of time to stop it.

“If the BID fails there won’t be another attempt. There is no plan B, this really is our last chance to create a more sustainable future for our city and we need every ‘Yes’ vote we can get to make it possible.

“Every vote makes a difference and we’re more than happy to come and collect any outstanding ballot papers from voters. Just contact the team and we’ll make every effort to get ballot papers to where they needs to go.”

The ballot centres on 508 eligible businesses in the city centre voting on whether or not to pay a 1% levy on top of their business rates, which will be allocated for improvements in the city ­­– such as must-see events, high-impact marketing and cost savings ­­– designed to increase footfall and establish a better bottom line for members.

The results of the CH1ChesterBID ballot will be officially announced on the CH1ChesterBID website at 4pm on July 1st.

For more information about CH1ChesterBID, visit www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk Email info@ch1chesterbid.co.uk or call 01244 403680

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elle Brunton .