Frequently Asked Questions
What Preston BID means to you
What is BID?
What is the BID's overriding objective?
Why should I pay more to get services that the Council should already be providing?
How is the levy collected?
Will the Council and the police have to pay the levy too?
How will we know if the BID is working?
What events are BID putting on this year?
How can I offer my comments/feedback to BID?
What opportunities will arrise from BID for me?
What is BID?
A Business Improvement District is a partnership between businesses, local authorities, and other organisations to work together to improve the trading environment of a specific area to make it more pleasant place in which to live, work, invest, and visit. Business Improvement Districts (BID) are an arrangement where businesses identify projects or services that will add value to their operations and then agree on the level of funds - the BID levy - which they will pay to make it happen. This arrangement is then put to a vote. A majority of businesses (by number and rateable value) have to vote in favour of establishing a BID for it to go ahead. The duration of the deal is three years. Under the legislation put forward by the Government a successful ballot will have to meet two tests: more than 50% of votes cast must be in favour of the BID and the positive vote must represent more than 50% of the rateable value of the votes cast.
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What is the BID's overriding objective?
The BID's overriding objective is to deliver a wide range of improvements that will make Preston city centre a more prosperous, exciting and vibrant place in which to shop, live, work, and visit.
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Why should I pay more to get services that the Council should already be providing?
BID Preston will provide new and additional activity to complement what is already being delivered in the city centre. To ensure that this happens we have worked with Preston City Council and Preston Police to draw up "baseline agreements" to guarantee that the level of existing services will not be reduced when the BID is introduced.
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How is the levy collected?
The levy will be collected by Preston City Council and passed directly to Preston BID.
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How will we know if the BID is working?
We'll be setting key performance indicators to track all activity. For example we will measure: local police retail crime statistics, footfall and sales performance, customer satisfaction, levels of increased investment, delivery of BID projects to budgets and timetable. We will send you this information in an Annual Report to show you how the BID is making a difference to your business.
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What events are BID putting on this year?
BID will be putting on a variety of City centre events throughout the year. These events will be high profile, inclusive and will ensure we keep Preston on the map.
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How can I offer my comments/feedback to BID?
The BID team are always interested in your comments and suggestions and as such welcome constructive feedback. There is a variety of ways you can offer feedback such as talking to one of the BID Ambassadors in the City centre, calling the BID Office or emailing your feedback via filling in the contact/feedback form.
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What opportunities will arrise from BID for me?
BID's procurement policy is transparent, wherever a product or service can competitively be procured from a BID levy payer - it will be. To inform us of your products/services simply visit the "want to supply to BID" tab or email details of your products and services directly to BID@lancschamber.co.uk. Opportunities to tender will be posted on the website as and when they arise.