Newbury businesses to vote on possible consortium

The Newbury Town Centre Partnership could be replaced with a Business Improvement District (BID)

BUSINESSES of every kind in Newbury are being asked to vote on whether they want to form a consortium to make improvements to their trading environment.

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a geographically defined area of a city, town or commercial district, where businesses have voted in a legally binding ballot, to invest collectively to enhance the town.

Newbury hopes to replace the Town Centre Partnership, which was formed in 2003 to improve the street scene and amenities in the town, with the BID.

Improvements such as security and marketing, the town, new street signage and car parking could be considered.

The improvements would be funded with money collected through a BID levy paid by the businesses located within the BID area, and would not be a replacement for statutory services already provided by public bodies.

A BID steering group has been looking at the feasibility of such a plan.

The group's chairwoman is Liz Chandler, from health food shop Nature's Corner in Newbury.

For more on this story, see this week's Newbury Weekly News.