Colne BID Proposal documents
You voted YES for Colne BID to continue for another 5 years! Thank you so much. If you want to refresh yourself on our work and plans, please take a look at the business plan and proposal below:
Full Business Plan 2023 – 2028 >>>> Colne BID Business Plan 2023 – 2028
Colne BID Proposal 2023 – 2028 >>>> Colne BID Proposal 2023 – 2028
Aim and Purpose of the BID
To enhance Colne as a great place to shop, socialise and do business by creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
The BID has a clear purpose to deliver a programme of projects and activities to improve business and trade, as well as bringing forward wider social and economic benefits to the town’s customers, visitors and workers.
The BID also creates a new town partnership for Colne, with membership drawn from the businesses and organisations in Colne’s centre and, importantly, with the means to sustain itself financially.
Objectives of the BID
1. To build, through the BID, an effective partnership in Colne between the town’s businesses, organisations and the local councils for the benefit of Colne’s businesses and wider community.
2. To take pride in Colne, by maintaining a bright, attractive town that customers want to visit, and businesses will want to be in.
3. To market and promote Colne as an attractive hill town, with a distinctive offer of shops, markets & events, as well as some of the best entertainment, leisure and recreation in the area.
4. To protect Colne as a safe and welcoming place to be, where shoppers, visitors and workers can feel relaxed and enjoy themselves in the daytime and in the evenings.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Are all businesses situated within the BID area be subject to the BID levy?
Yes – all businesses with a rateable value of £3000 pa or more will pay the 1.5% BID levy. A minimum BID levy threshold has been set at £3,000pa so businesses with a rateable value of £3000 or below will not have to pay but will still benefit.
I don’t pay business rates. Why do I still have to pay the levy?
Yes, the levy is based on rateable value of your property and not on whether you pay rates. If the rateable value is over the threshold of £3000 you will be liable to pay.
Do councils pay the levy?
Yes, if a council owns property in the BID area, they must pay. In our BID, both Colne Town Council and Pendle Council have a few business premises in the BID area and will pay a BID Levy on their property.
Do not-for-profit, charities, charity shops have to pay the levy?
Many of the larger BIDs around the country offer a reduction or discount to not-for-profit charities or charity shops. Many of the smaller BIDs do not. Our BID for Colne is at the small end of the spectrum and will NOT offer a discount for the first term of a BID.
I voted ‘No’. Why do I still have to pay?
Setting up the BID for Colne town centre was a democratic process managed by a postal Ballot following 12 months of consultation. Its the same for all 300+ BIDS around the country. The number of votes cast in favour of Colne BID in 2018 was 74% of voters , and £910,000, or 62% of the rateable value of votes cast. So Colne BID was set up based on the majority of the town’s businesses voting for it. All through the consultation process, we let people know that if there was a majority yes vote, then even if they didn’t vote or voted no, all businesses in the BID zone would contribute so that we can deliver the proposals and plans in our Business Plan for all businesses. There is no ‘opt out’.
Isn’t this just going to benefit shop owners/big businesses? Why is this relevant to me?
A BID is run by local businesses to help local businesses thrive and to improve the economic prosperity of the town. The cut off for businesses to be liable for a BID levy varies by BID depending on the size of the town or city and number of businesses in the BID area. For our BID the Steering Group (made up of representatives from local businesses) decided on the £3,000 through the process of consultation mentioned above. A business within the BID area, paying the levy gives that business a say on how the money is spent as a potential Member of the BID Company.
Because we have a large proportion of independent business in our town, the BID Steering Group wanted to make sure that as many business as possible could have their say in how the money is spent, so that it will benefit business and our town. If the cut off was set higher (as with some other BIDs in larger towns) this would mean that many of our businesses would fall below and they wouldn’t have say to make sure the BID worked for them too.
What happens with empty properties?
The property owner gets to vote on the BID, but also becomes liable for the BID levy.
Why do we have to pay this amount all at once?
As with any business, in order to deliver the proposals in the Business Plan the BID Company needs working capital, rather than taking out a loan to finance the projects. It is a one-off annual payment. There will be no additional outlay requested by the BID company. The levy will be spent on additional activity to bring visitors into town, to encourage residents to spend more time and money here and support business growth.
Can I pay by installment?
Unfortunately not, because that will incur extra cost to the BID and therefore reduce the amount to spend on implementing the Business Plan.
What’s the basis on which the levy is calculated?
The levy is based on the business rateable value (BRV) of the property. Where the BRV is more than £3000, the amount is multiplied by 1.5% for a single annual payment for each business.
Do the nationals in town pay as well?
Yes. Every property with a BRV above £3,000 pays. Even if the bill is paid at Head Office, all levy collected is spent on our Town.
Why have we got a Business Improvement District in Colne ?
A BID for our town received a ‘Yes’ vote in 2018 and a ‘Yes’ vote in 2023 for a second term. The BID ballot was overseen by the Electoral Reform Services who administer national ballots and elections. According to Government legislation for BIDs, the Colne BID complied with the majority yes vote and the total rateable values of those voting yes exceeded the no vote.
How will the BID benefit my business?
The themes and activities in the business plan are based on consultation with you as business owners over the past 18 months. But these ideas just scratch the surface. We are in the early stage of getting everything set up and planning to deliver a range of projects and activity for BID business over the coming years.
What happens if I paid for the year then cease to be liable?
The BID levy is calculated on a daily basis. If you cease to be liable to pay part way through a financial year (eg you sell the property) and have already paid in full we will calculate the amount you have overpaid and refund this to you.
Full Business Plan 2023-28 here >>>> Colne BID Business Plan 2023 – 2028
Ballot Result
On 30 June 2023, businesses and organisations in Colne voted in favour for a second term of a Business Improvement District (BID) for the central commercial area of Colne.
Of 99 votes cast in the ballot, 79 were in favour, representing a majority of the votes cast, and a majority of the aggregate rateable value.
The result of the ballot means that the Proposal to continue a BID in Colne has been approved under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2003 and The Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004.
The BID proposal can be viewed on the link at the top of the page.