Northampton BID secures £1.5m to spend on the town as businesses vote to keep the organisation in place for another five years

A huge £1.5 million has been secured by Northampton Business Improvement District (BID) to spend on the town as businesses vote to keep the organisation in place for a further five years.

The month-long ballot in which hundreds of businesses in the area were asked to vote on proposals, saw 75 percent of votes cast in favour of the renewal of BID.

As a result of the ‘yes’ vote, the renewal of Northampton BID will commence on the April 1, 2021 and businesses with a rateable value of £5,000 or above will pay a levy based upon their rateable value, creating a collective fund of more than £1.5 million to spend over the next five years.

Andrea Smith, co-chair of the BID, said: “This is superb news for Northampton and a huge congratulations must go to all the businesses which rallied and joined forces to ensure we secured a yes vote in our renewal ballot.

“Thanks must go to all those businesses that engaged in the process by sharing their ideas and opinions on how we can work together to improve the area and who, ultimately, voted in favour of the plans to support each other in these challenging and uncertain times.

“The BID’s business plan, which businesses were being asked to vote on, has been designed to begin addressing the issues which came up during the lengthy consultations with many of the businesses in the BID area, from the small independent businesses to large national businesses.

“The money will now be spent through the three key strategic objectives and their related activities.”

The Northampton BID vision is ‘to continue to work with all stakeholders to define, develop and promote the identity of Northampton town centre which reflects its strengths, characteristics and heritage and is a sustainable and vibrant place which generates pride for its businesses, local residents, and visitors’.

The objectives are as follows:

- Objective 1 is to promote Northampton town centre, its business, cultural, leisure, educational and social offer locally and regionally

- Objective 2 is to create a sense of ‘place’ for visitors and people working in the town centre to enjoy

- Objective 3 is to encourage growth, development and investment of businesses which complement and build on the strengths of Northampton town centre

Brendan Bruder, co-chair of the BID, added: “The renewal of the Business Improvement District provides us with an opportunity to forge even stronger links between businesses in the town centre and the new local authorities in Northampton and West Northamptonshire.

“Towns and cities across the UK are changing rapidly and we need to ensure that Northampton does not get left behind but takes advantage of its unique position in terms of its heritage and the strength of its people through their passion for the town.”

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