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Car parks get Stratford BID votes while town businesses are excluded




STRATFORD’S Swans Nest Lane car park only has 26 spaces but it’s got something money can’t buy for many town centre businesses – a vote in the current BID ballot.

The small plot of land is not the only car park to get the vote. And there’s more… at Bridgefoot, the visitor information centre AND the turning circle for tour buses alongside it, each get a vote.

As controversy continues to rage about the plans to give Stratford BID five more years, members of the district council’s cabinet met on Monday and voted to back a new term. It was a crunch moment in the ongoing debate for, unlike the town council, which voted recently to use its one vote in favour of the BID continuing, the district council was deciding how to cast ten votes.

When so many small businesses – among them many critics of the BID’s recent performance – have been denied a vote in the current ballot by a change in the level of rateable value, the list of district council properties that give them those ten votes will raise a few eyebrows:

Elizabeth House

Bridgefoot and Unicorn *

Visitor Information Centre

R/o 28 Church Street (car park)

Windsor Street (multi-storey)

Riverside car park

Recreation Ground car park

Arden Street car park

Swans Nest car park

Bridgeway car park

(*confirmed by the council to be the turning circle)

The report to Monday’s meeting highlighted that the levies the council pays on all of these add up to £17,338.66 a year under the current arrangements but this could rise to £22,256 under future plans.

There is also an income – it gets paid £4,500 for collecting the BID levies and this will rise to £9,500.

But in flagging up the financial balancing act, the report to councillors recognised there was a bigger financial consideration when making a decision. The conclusion said: “The reason why the BID is considered advantageous is because it can act collectively on behalf of the businesses in the town centre and undertake initiatives and activities that are beyond the scope of existing businesses.

“Without the BID, these activities would either not occur or the expectation would rest with the council to fund them; for which there is currently no budget.”

At other points it recognised there have been issues – saying at different stages, ‘Recently, it has been a challenging period for the BID in respect of its management’, ‘It is acknowledged that the BID has not fully delivered on its business plan for the current BID period; notably last year both the motor and river festivals were not run’ – and ‘The council acknowledges there have been some issues regarding the performance of the BID including some vocal, albeit minority opposition’.

The report also announced a positive view of the BID’s proposals: ‘The council is confident that the election of the new chair, changes to the operation and membership of the board and the interim management arrangements currently in place, will provide a strong foundation for the BID to re-energise itself and move forward with the successful delivery of its proposed business plan for the period to 2029’.

And while those opponents claim the raising of the rateable value – seen in other BIDS around the country – is a device to remove the vote from the smaller, independent businesses, the officer’s report took the corporate line that it had been done to save smaller businesses money in a tough time.

BID critics were unimpressed by Monday’s outcome.

Pauline Grant-Taylor said: “There is a serious injustice here that car parks have a vote on the future of the town, yet 110 small independent businesses, who have paid their business levy for 14 years have had their vote removed.”

Her sentiment was echoed by Alison Halford, from Business Action Groups for Stratford, who told the Herald: “Ironically, the Liberal Democrats who support proportional representation nationally, think its ok to remove the rights of 110 local businesses from the vote on the bid.”

And to leader of the council Cllr Susan Juned (Lib Dem, Alcester East) she added: “You criticised the previous district council administration for their lack of ability to gain funding for the town because of their lack of ambition, when your ambition amounts to nothing more than supporting the BID that has failed for the last 15 years.”

At the meeting Cllr Juned told colleagues the additional things the BID could provide were important in a town like Stratford: “Lots of visitors come to the town and we certainly need the extra services the BID can provide.”

She proposed using the council’s votes to back the BID, Cllr Natalie Gist (Lib Dem, Bishops Itchington, Fenny Compton and Napton) seconded and it was supported by the cabinet.



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