A BID is a legally and geographically defined business-led partnership for area improvement and service delivery, funded by the levy-paying businesses within an agreed boundary.
Following a ballot of all the rate paying businesses above a proposed threshold in the area, in which at least half of these vote to create a BID, a BID is formed. All businesses that are eligible to vote then contribute a levy (based on a small percentage of their business rate contributions) to support the operational and delivery costs of the BID and its initiatives. BID levy money is ring-fenced for use only in the BID area, and businesses decide and direct what they want for the area. Depending on the size of a BID area, the threshold and the agreed level of business rate contributions, annual BID income can range from less than £50,000 to over £2 million per annum.
There are already several BIDs and pre-BID partnerships (areas that have begun the process of becoming a BID) in the City of London, namely the Fleet Street Quarter, Cheapside Business Alliance, EC Partnership, and Aldgate Connect.
Further information on the national Business Improvement District framework is available here.
