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SUPPORT: Backing the Business Improvement Plan (BID) for Bradford are, from left, Dave West, Sandy Needham and Chris Gregory

POPULAR: Shopping in Bradford could be boosted by the BID

BOOST: Bradford city centre is set to be helped bythe development of a BID for the area

IN CHARGE: Ian Ward, The Broadway manager andchairman of the Bradford BID Development Group

HELP: Ivegate, in Bradford city centre, is part of the area proposed for the BID

JOINED: Little Germany Action Ltd chair Dave West confirmed the area has joined the BID

Mark Stanford looks at thehistory and procedure aroundthe campaign to form a BusinessImprovement District in thecentre of BradfordBRADFORD city centre is set to be a morevibrant and secure place if multi-millionpound plans for a Business ImprovementDistrict (BID) continue to gather momen-tum.

It is a big year for the BID, which is a un-ion of district business bosses, as a surveywas completed last year and a ballot to seeif the plans take place, will be held in theautumn.

What is a BID?It is a business-led and business funded bodyformed to improve a defined commercialarea. Most are governed by a board made upof firms who represent the BID area. Thismeans that businesses would decide and di-rect what they want for the city.

BIDs are considered to be the leadingmodel of management and development oftown and city centres. It is anticipated thatmore than £500,000 per year could be raisedin Bradford to promote and add to the vital-ity of the city, increase footfall across theentire city centre.

Who is involved in Bradford’s BID?The project is spearheaded by The Broad-way manager Ian Ward, who is chairmanof the Bradford BID Development Group.Other support has come from Diana Green-wood, of Visit Bradford; city centre man-ager Jonny Noble; Sandy Needham, of theWest and North Yorkshire Chamber ofCommerce, and Trevor Higgins, of BradfordBreakthrough.

How will it help to improve Bradford?After a survey was held with Bradford firms,it was suggested what improvements shouldbe considered. These include improvingthe appearance of empty shops, more citycentre events or festivals, improvementsto problem areas like graffiti or fly-tippingremoval, more activities at Christmas andimprovements to security such as policing.

Other suggestions included projects toboost investment into Bradford, more mar-keting and promotion to bring Bradford to awider audience, greater lobbying and cham-pioning of Bradford.

What area is included in the BID?An initial BID boundary covering the whole

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For more stories and background onthe Bradford BID, go totelegraphandargus.co.uk

BID TEAM: From left, Diana Greenwood, of Visit Bradford; Dave West, of Little GermanyAction; city centre manager Jonny Noble; Broadway manager Ian Ward; Sandy Needham.of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, and Trevor Higgins, of BradfordBreakthrough

of Bradford city centre, the Kirkgate andBroadway shopping centres was proposed.This would mean that 585 businesses are eli-gible to take part.

How is it paid for?It is funded by firms paying usually betweenone per cent and 1.75 per cent of their busi-ness rateable value towards the scheme. Themoney is ring-fenced so it can only be usedin the BID area.

A levy of 1.25 per cent is being mooted forBradford, which organisers say would meansmall businesses with a rateable value of£20,000 would put £250 each year into thefund. A medium-sized firm with a rateablevalue of £70,000 would pump in £875 per year

and a large business with a £140,000 rateablevalue would bring in £1,750 every 12 monthsto BID.

The survey of Bradford businesses in theBID area said it would bring in £419,000 eachyear for the project. Firms from outsideBradford city centre may also add to this an-nual total.

Has it been done anywhere else?

There are almost 300 similar projects cur-rently operating across the United King-dom, including the Keighley BID.

Launched in 2016, it aimed to generate£1.4 million for the town during the next fiveyears to help revive the town centre. TheBID secured a majority vote in November2015, with 78.6 per cent of businesses sup-porting the scheme in a ballot. As part of theventure, firms paid a 1.5 per cent levy on topof their standard business rate.

How do I support or object to the idea?Go to bradfordbid.co.uk/contact-us to giveyour opinions and views on the BID project.

When might it start?

A survey of city centre businesses and or-ganisations was held from July last year anda detailed report into the feasibility of theproject was produced in November 2017.

The BID’s business plan will be launchedin June and a ballot of those affected will beissued in September 2018.

The ballot will take place in October, withthe declaration of the result announced inOctober.

The Bradford BID’s board of directors,and its staff, will then be appointed. The BIDwill begin in December this year.

How long will it last?BIDs last for up to five years, which wouldgenerate more than £2.5m in Bradford.

The fine print behind making a BID

BID extends toLittle GermanyBRADFORD’S historic Little Germany quarter is tobe included in the city’s planned Business Improve-ment District.

The area was not included in the original plansfor the BID, which centres around The Broadwayand Kirkgate shopping centres, City Park, the mar-kets and the Leisure Exchange.

But the district’s business leaders have now de-cided to throw their weight behind the BID planwhich would see around 600 businesses paying alevy to fund improvements to the city centre.

The contributions from Little Germany wouldhelp to bring the total spend over the five years ofthe scheme to more than £2.5 million.

The nineteenth-century landmark trading area,which features one of the largest concentrations oflisted buildings in the country, has undergone sub-stantial restoration in recent decades.

Business leaders say that if the BID goes aheadafter the ballot this autumn, it could play a big partin helping the historic district realise its full poten-tial as a place in which to work and live and as avisitor attraction.

Directors of the not-for-profit limited companyset up in 2011 to promote the area, Little GermanyAction Ltd (LGAL), say they are already campaign-ing for a “Yes” vote and will be urging other citycentre businesses to get behind it.

Dave West, LGAL chair, said: “Great progress hasbeen made to date but more needs to be done to as-sist the area’s regeneration and help it achieve itspotential.

“The Bradford BID will be an excellent vehicle tohelp make Little Germany, and the rest of the citycentre, an animated, safer, cleaner and positivelypromoted part of Bradford.”

He said the directors fully supported the conceptof the Business Improvement District.

“We are campaigning locally for a ‘Yes’ vote laterthis year,” said Mr West.

“We thoroughly endorse the BID and urge all lo-cal businesses and building owners to get involved,

vote ‘Yes’ and help this wonderful area play its partin making Bradford city centre a success.”

Their decision to join the project was welcomedby BID development group chairman Ian Ward.

“Little Germany is an integral part of Bradfordcity centre,” said Mr Ward. “It is not only a fabu-lous place in which to live and work but it is also afascinating area to visit and should be a real drawfor tourists.

“We believe the BID can help build on the amaz-ing regeneration work that’s been done and help toput Little Germany on the map for visitors, poten-tial investors and residents alike.

“We’re thrilled to have them on board and we’revery grateful to Little Germany Action Ltd for theirenthusiastic support of the BID proposal and theinitiatives we plan to take forward.”

Little Germany was at the centre of the worldtrade in wool after it was built in the early to mid-1800s and many of the industry’s leading merchantsset out to impress clients by erecting ornate and im-posing offices of Yorkshire stone, with no expensespared.

The decline in the wool trade in the 20th centuryleft many of the buildings unused and in a state ofdecline until regeneration programmes broughtthem back in to use.

ByMichael Black01274 705292

newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk