Council backs call for increased business levies

A council report has backed a proposals to expand York's Business Improvement District (BID)

Hikes in levies paid to York's Business Improvement District (BID) are necessary in order to allow the business-led body to continue its services, events, and efforts to attract investment, according to a York Council report.

It has also backed plans to expand the BID area by a further 10 streets, raising the number of levy-paying businesses to 974.

Proposals drawn up by the BID's board would see annual levies rise from 1% to 1.6% of the rateable value of each eligible commercial property. A further 2% yearly increase would be applied to cover inflation, with a cap of £20,000-per-property.

The report called BID's current financial framework "unsustainable" arguing it had not changed since 2016.

An increase in levies, and expanding the BID's area to include more streets, would help fund essential services provided by BID, such as street cleaning, security personnel and cycle storage.

The proposals by the BID board are set to be discussed by the council's executive on 3 June, ahead of a ballot on whether to renew the body's term for a further five years.

BID members, including the council, are set to be balloted in October - with the new arrangements taking effect from April next year, if they are passed.

Members will also be asked to endorse the BID's business plan - due to be drafted by late summer - which will set out its plans and priorities until 2031.

Ghosts in The Gardens, which returns to York this September, is among the events backed by BID

Under new proposals, 10 new streets would also be added to the area covered by York BID, taking in those included in its Purple Flag safety campaign and other projects.

They are: Blossom Street, Bootham, The Crescent, Eboracum Way, Esplanade Court, Frederic Street, Heworth Green, Layerthorpe, Marygate and Marygate Lane.

The additions would increase the number of levy-paying businesses from 892 currently - which together contribute about £800,000-a-year - to 974 businesses.

But the report stated business revaluations, which took place in 2023, lowered rateable values by £4.16m, compared to 2017 - meaning the overall amount of levies collected is expected to fall.

Rising footfall

Services provided by York BID include daily street cleaning, street rangers, taxi and riverside marshals and cycle storage, along with seating and floral displays.

The body also helps to organise events, including York Restaurant Week, the annual winter illuminations, the Colour and Light display and Ghosts in the Garden.

It also provides subsidised skills training for businesses, in partnership with York St John University, and monitors city-centre footfall, visitor numbers and spending data.

The report stated the BID had invested £7.6m into York city centre since it was established, with footfall rising by 7.5% from 2023 to 2024.

Shop vacancy rates were at their lowest rate in almost 18 months at 7.4% at the end of last year, under the BID's tenure, the report found.

It claimed that progress would be jeopardised if the BID's term is not renewed and levy hikes do not go ahead.

The report stated: "The current financial framework of the BID is unsustainable as arrangements have been in place since 2016.

"The BID Board is clear that changes must be implemented to secure its operations for a further five-year term."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted York BID for further comment.

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