Newsflash: Melton businesses vote in favour of a new five-year BID

The BID team has this morning (Friday) revealed the news, confirming that 200 businesses cast a vote – which equates to around 40 per cent of eligible businesses.

Of these, 67 per cent, or 134, voted ‘yes’ to a new BID.

This means that levies on businesses rates will add up to £750,000 to be spent on projects in Melton over the next five years. These include promotional activities for town events, improvements in the Melton street scene and support for businesses in the form of training, grants and free waste recycling.

For a BID to be successful, more than half of votes cast must be in favour of retaining the BID project and the rateable value of the ‘yes’ votes must be greater than the ‘no’ responses.

The initiative is designed to get businesses in an area to unite to fund and manage activities to improve their trading environment.

Each business which funds the scheme pays 1.5 per cent of the rateable value of their property for Melton’s BID, which was launched in October 2011 and involves businesses on 35 streets.

Over the first five years it has delivered a range of projects, including the town centre app, footfall counter, ‘in bloom’ campaigns, marketing initiatives and various events.

It has also offered business support initiatives, such as the free trade recycling scheme, business support grants and free training.

The Melton project is one of more than 250 BIDs operating in the UK.