Leading the BID industry
Leading the BID industry
May is jam-packed with activities across the five countries of the British Isles, as we move into the summer, and Jubilee weekends and bank holidays beckon. Following the Queen’s speech, government activity is also full on, so there is much to report this month.
Ballots continue to take place, with successes in Dublin Town BID and My Shawlands. Easter and the various bank holidays has meant a slowdown in ballots, but a dozen or so are coming up in the next eight weeks and they will be reported as usual in our weekly Ballot Watch for British BIDs members.
Last week saw elections across four of the five countries, with some major administration changes and BIDs having to form relationships with new local authority leaders. In some instances, the outcome was surprising, with voters in Bristol voting to scrap the directly elected mayoral position, which will see the council return to a committee system of governance from 2024 for at least a decade – more info here. Much of the government’s levelling up agenda is predicated on elected executive Mayors, so this is an interesting development. Bristol City Council thus becomes the fourth authority to scrap its directly elected Mayor, after Stoke-on-Trent (2009), Hartlepool (2013) and Torbay (2019), with Liverpool City Council currently consulting residents.
Inflation is rearing its ugly head after a decade or more, and the Bank of England forecast is scary. In the May Report, CPI inflation is expected to rise further over the remainder of the year, to just over 9% in 2022 Q2 and averaging slightly over 10% at its peak in 2022 Q4. The majority of that further increase reflects higher energy prices. Consumer price inflation is likely to peak later in the United Kingdom than in many other economies – find more info here. This is clearly a major problem for BIDs, with five-year budget cycles and low, or no, inflation built into levy payments. The British BIDs survey last year suggested that around 60% of BIDs have not built an inflation factor into their current arrangements; most will be doing so for their next terms.
One key document that emerged just before Easter was government response to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee’s sixth report on Supporting Our High Streets After COVID-19. It is important because it outlines the current government thinking on so many issues, including planning matters, town funding, and levelling up funding. The government says it recognises that Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have played a key role in supporting our high streets throughout the pandemic, but felt that when considering the length of terms, it is also important that businesses that will be subject to the levy are permitted a democratic right to vote on payment of that levy at regular and frequent intervals. Government also felt that BIDs currently allow for community representation and there are positive examples of property owners working closely with BIDs. The response also makes clear that that Government feels its review of business rates has already reduced the burden for all high street businesses, delivering reforms which will make the system fairer and more responsive to changing economic conditions. The review has also reaffirmed the importance of business rates for raising revenue for essential local services. It may be that not much further change is forthcoming. Here is a detailed but worthwhile read for those keen to keep abreast of emerging government policy.
There was also some serious work coming out of the Queen’s Speech in the English parliament last week. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill aspires to give local leaders and communities the tools they need to make better places. The government sees this is a key component of the Levelling Up White Paper published in February this year. The White Paper was a very powerful and ambitious programme to reduce inequality and close the gap in productivity, health, incomes, and opportunity between much of the south east and the rest of the country – more info here. Its ambitions are spot on for those of us in the BID community - boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards; spread opportunities and improve public services; restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging; and empower local leaders and communities. This is all exciting stuff, and we look forward to seeing the various funding streams that will be needed to bring this about. The bill suggests that it will reinvigorate high streets by making changes to outdoor seating permanent and allowing local authorities to fill vacant commercial property, such as shops, through high street rental auctions. It will enhance compulsory purchase powers, make it easier to establish locally led development corporations and improve transparency about the ownership and control of land. It wants to deliver high quality design and beautiful places and protect our heritage.
Under this legislation, landlords in England with empty stores for over a year will be ordered to rent out the premises to prospective tenants in a move by the government to “breathe new life into high streets. According to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the number of empty shop fronts has soared to one in seven in England. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the move will “breathe new life into high streets”, which have been hit hard during the pandemic. But Melanie Leech, the Chief Executive of the British Property Federation (BPF), described compulsory rent auctions as “political gimmicks” and “not the solution” to revitalising town centres, according to the BBC. She said: “No property owner wants their premises to be empty. In our experience, property owners are willing to do zero-rent deals to avoid boarded-up shop fronts. But the burden of business rates and other occupational costs mean it is still unviable for many small and independent businesses to trade from town-centre premises.” At the same time, senior local government figures have warned that there needs to be a "far bolder" approach to achieve levelling up and have urged ministers to speed up the pace of devolution.
One major development is the removal of old §106 and CIL money and use of a simple, mandatory, and locally determined Infrastructure Levy to make sure that more of the money accrued by landowners and developers goes towards funding the local infrastructure such as affordable housing, schools, GP surgeries, and roads.
There is clearly much going on!
British BID’s regular Academy Programmes continue, with a newly enhanced series of 12 training modules in both online and in-person mode through the year, and the Certificate in BID Management and the Diploma in BID Leadership also recruiting for the second cohort this year and both now running in online and in-person modes. Do please get in touch with me or our new team member Trish Willets on contact@britishbids.info
Professor Christopher Turner, Chief Executive, British BIDs
