Canterbury BID was established by ballot in 2014 as an independent, business-led, not-for-profit initiative to ensure investment the city centre based on the priorities of the business community. All of the money raised by the BID – from the levy, voluntary contributions, sponsorship and commercial income – is invested directly back into Canterbury. In the first BID term (2014-2019), your BID raised 20% on top of the levy, totalling £430,000 over the five years, bringing the total amount invested to over £2.9m. The BID’s mission is to help make Canterbury a vibrant, exciting, well connected and successful business community.
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are business-led partnerships that agree by ballot to pay an extra levy based on their rateable value to fund activities, services and improvements that will benefit the businesses and the place in which they operate. Nationally, there are 300 BIDs in the UK, investing over £130m every year, giving business an independent voice and investing in business-led initiatives.
Under Government legislation we are now approaching the end of the first five-year term, and therefore to continue beyond September 2019 we need to run a ballot from 13 June to 11 July 2019.
The past five years have seen us deliver demonstrable change and progress across a range of key issues outlined in our first Business Plan – a plan directly influenced by and developed with the business community in Canterbury. The city has changed enormously over the first term of the BID. We are in a rapidly changing retail environment nationally; our higher education institutions contribute significantly to Canterbury’s economy and they are changing, too; our hospitality, attractions and entertainment offering is developing and we need to support that. We need to work together as a business community to face these challenges and opportunities. Together we are a stronger voice, and we look forward to more shared success.
We began consultation on the future of your BID at a conference at The Westgate Hall on 27 September 2018. Click here to see the results of the event – a great snap shot of the room’s opinions. Our Business Plan for the a second BID term will be published on 22 May 2019 at “The Future of Your BID” Conference and Annual General meeting. The business plan is based on consultation with you over the past five years and an extensive consultation process from September to November 2018.
You can also contact the BID Board, Executive Team or your BID Ambassador anytime.
To find out more about how BIDs work, see our Frequently Asked Questions – this is a live document, so if you have a question that isn’t answered here, please ask!
