Crewe set to benefit from £1.6m business investment

The creation of Crewe BID has been approved

A town is set to benefit from £1.6m of investment following the creation of a new Business Improvement District (BID).

Crewe BID was confirmed after 67% of eligible organisations voted in favour of its establishment.

The referendum was held by Crewe Town Council, which spearheaded the new BID's development.

The accompanying investment will come from mandatory levies paid by the eligible businesses in the town.

The money will be managed by those businesses and used for:

• An expanded programme of events and activities.

• Projects to create a cleaner, greener and safer Crewe.

• A five-year marketing and promotion campaign to connect more than 200,000 consumers with the message "Crewe is changing for the better".

• Enhancements for the BID businesses in Crewe town centre, those on Nantwich Road and Grand Junction Retail Park, plus others in the surrounding area.

Crewe Town Council commissioned Groundwork Cheshire to work on the development of Crewe BID earlier this year.

'Significant resource'

The BID's board will be formed by representatives from the businesses involved.

A spokesperson from Crewe Town Council said the authority was looking forward to working with the new organisation.

"This puts a significant resource into local hands and will give local businesses a voice and influence in the town's regeneration," they added.

The new investment came after the government announced that high-speed rail network HS2 - a key part of Crewe's regeneration plans - would no longer reach the town.

This was followed with Cheshire East Council confirming that a planned retail and leisure development at Royal Arcade had been scrapped.