Weymouth BID

Weymouth BID is a Business Improvement District (BID) scheme in its Steering Group stage. Please help us by taking the questionnaire http://www.weymouthbid.co.uk/questionnaire/bidquestionnaire The BID programme is partly funded by the businesses themselves through a levy on non-domestic rates – usually 1 to 1.5%. To put the cost into perspective, a business with a £10,000 rateable value would pay an extra £150 in business rates. A local steering group of interested businesses has been established and an initial boundary for the BID scheme has been proposed. This is followed by a wide programme of consultation and development to determine what sort of improvements businesses would like to see and would be prepared to contribute towards. The results of the consultation shape the final proposal on which businesses are asked to vote ‘for’ or ‘against’ the scheme at a postal ballot. BID schemes usually operate for a period of 5 years. For the BID to go ahead, two conditions must be met: • Over 50% of businesses that vote must vote in favour. • Those businesses voting ‘yes’ must represent more than 50% of the total rateable value of all votes cast. If both these conditions are fulfilled, payment of the levy becomes mandatory for ALL eligible businesses, regardless of how they voted. After five years, businesses will have the opportunity to review how the BID has performed and decide, through a re-ballot based on a new proposal, whether it will continue for a second term.