Leading the BID industry
Leading the BID industry
The BID Loan Fund is an initiative funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assist with the development of new BIDs in town and city centres in England. To date, 33 loans totalling £1,086,135 have been granted. The scheme has been administered on behalf of MHCLG by British BIDs since 2013.
We are pleased to announce that the latest tranche of funding has been awarded to the following towns:
British BIDs sends its congratulations to each of these towns.
The latest round of the British Improvement Districts (BIDs) Loan Fund will support business owners and local leaders to set-up a BID, bringing communities together to deliver additional local services and transform commercial areas.
This will empower local business communities to undertake the projects they believe will deliver lasting economic benefit.
The British BIDs Advisory Group, made up of a panel of industry experts, have worked closely with HMCLG to scrutinise the applications and make recommendations to MHCLG. The final award decision is made by MHCLG that is not bound to make either a specific number or any awards.
The minimum loan to any location is £10,000 and the maximum £50,000, with funds to be used exclusively in the development of new BID Proposals. Loans are released in stage payments and are subject to satisfactory completion of agreed milestones within the ‘Five Stages of BID Development’, which cover all aspects of developing a BID to a successful ballot outcome. Upon a successful ballot, the loan is repayable to the Fund (plus interest) from levy receipts or other local funding mechanisms on a pre-agreed renewal payment plan via the Billing Authority.
The Loan fund can be used for all of the five stages of BID Development:
Feasibility; Planning; Local Authority; Campaign; and Establishment - or just for latter stages of more advanced applications.
Click here to read the latest Loan Fund Guidance notes.
The toolkit, available now, allows local authorities to provide a loan fund to BIDs at a local level. Based on a locally agreed criteria alongside nationally proven methodology, the model has recently been trialled and successfully implemented in Uxbridge, amongst others.
The toolkit has been produced following numerous enquiries from both developing BIDs and local authorities as to the availability of development funding.
Professor Christopher Turner, Chief Executive of British BIDs said:
“It is shown that, with professionally developing BIDs, following a proven criteria, investment during the development stages can yield great returns when the BID commences, thereby, repaying the loan in full. This new toolkit sets out a recommended process”.
For more information on the Local Government BID Loan Fund toolkit and how to acquire this, please contact us.
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