Morecambe businesses get set to go to the polls

Businesses in Morecambe are set to go to the polls to decide whether to become a Business Improvement District (BID).

With help from Lancaster City Council and the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, businesses in Morecambe have drawn up a proposal which includes the majority of the town centre, Frontierland site and the eastern town centre approaches.

If successful, the BID will bring investment of approximately £630,000 into Morecambe over a five-year period to spend on encouraging more people to visit and spend money in the town.

Ballot papers will be distributed to all eligible businesses in the area from April 15. Votes will be cast entirely by post over a four week period, with the ballot closing at 5pm on May 26.

In the run up to the start of the ballot eligible voters will receive a formal Notice of Ballot which explains how to vote and a copy of the BID Proposal Document.    

For more information on the Morecambe BID, please contact Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce on info@morecambebid.org.uk or 01524 381331.

Alternatively, information on the Morecambe BID can be viewed at www.morecambebid.com.  

A Business Improvement District is a flexible funding mechanism to improve and manage a clearly defined commercial area. It is based on the principle of charging an additional levy on business rate payers in a defined area, following a majority vote by those ratepayers.

In Morecambe the levy will be 1.5% and applied to premises with a rateable value of over £3.5K. All registered charities in the BID zone will have 50% relief from the levy (i.e. they will only pay 0.75% of their rateable value annually).

BIDs are a time-limited and locally controlled method for improving the environment and economic performance of a defined area of a town or city. The BID levy is ring-fenced for use only for the benefit of the BID zone.

Last updated: 07 April 2016