Business Improvement Districts have an important role to fulfil within their different areas, and whilst our size may mean that addressing larger issues can be more complicated, we will always here to represent your views on how to improve your trading environments, towns and villages.
As there are a large number of organisations that provide different degrees of business growth, training and support, including local authorities, we will always look to signpost you first for the most appropriate help and advice, rather than create an unnecessary service. Communicating this can be challenging, but if you are ever in need of information or advice, please contact us directly.
The BID will:
- Work to reduce business costs through collective buying.
- Lobby local authorities and public sector organisations to represent the views of the business community.
- Secure additional investment over the course of the BID five-year term to add value to levy investment.
- Investigate a reward/discount scheme for the Yorkshire Coast.
- Signpost businesses to additional funding available.
- Work with partners to deliver sector-specific training, if required.
BID LEVY
Throughout the last 4 months, we have been working on renegotiating contracts and fast-tracking approvals to ensure that as we exit the lockdown, we have a full program of activity over the next 12 months.
We understand that businesses are concerned about the year two levy and we have waited as long as we possibly could because we have been continuing to investigate avenues to suspend, defer or discount.
Please note, it has never been the will of the board to issue bills in the light of recent closures.
- Local authorities have a statutory duty to issue bills and collect as per the BID regulations, not the BID Company or Board.
- The BID Board does not have the power to cancel levy bills or apply discounts; they are bound to operate within the government framework.
- No alteration ballots can take place pre-2021 due to new coronavirus legislation.
- An alteration ballot cannot be used to write off outstanding liabilities or bring about retrospective changes.
- Discounts can only be applied if a BID has brought in the same level of additional funding to cover a discount made, i.e. If we had secured £300,000 of additional income, we could use this to apply a 25% discount to our BID levy and invoke article 16.
Due to the above, we have been involved in the following lobbying:
- Requesting the annual BID levy to be suspended for one year due to COVID-19 (National Campaign)
- Requesting for the annual BID levy to receive the same treatment as business rates for one year due to COVID-19 (National Campaign)
- For BIDs to be able to apply discounts to the annual BID levy for one year due to COVID-19 (Our Campaign)
- For those businesses with a rateable value of £51,000-£105,000 to be given access to government grants (National Campaign)
We are still awaiting a response from the government from our latest request submitted on the 9th of June.
While the levy bills have to be issued, we have made formal requests to Scarborough Borough Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council to allow for a six-month deferral and amendment to the operating agreement.
This deferral will provide us with time to apply discounts if government legislation allows, and we have restructured our plans so that they can be delivered using our existing funds only.
We will update as soon as we receive further information.
We partnered with Meercat Associates in November 2019, to deliver a savings advisory service that provides you with free and impartial recommendations on how you can reduce your business costs.
Meercat Associates operate on a retainer basis and do not take any commissions or kickbacks on any of the suppliers that they recommend to you, so you receive all of the benefits.
If you have already entered into new contracts with your suppliers, you can still use them to check that you have received the best options, or if you are looking to change to suppliers which have green credentials, they can offer you additional advise on suppliers that are committed to protecting the environment.
As an additional service, they are also able to use their national network to provide bulk procurement options for PPE which have been quality checked, so you can be assured that you will receive the right safety products for your business.
The pandemic and forced closure of our businesses highlighted a gap in businesses digital awareness. We partnered with ShopAppy, an online platform that can provide businesses with an easy way to sell online.
This platform started off as a tool for retailers, but with the growth of their site and constant development that includes table/online bookings and e-vouchers, it is a site that anyone can use.
It was important to us that the site took zero commission from businesses using this service and support was available to those who needed it to get up and running quickly.
We are looking at September dates for our next set of online training sessions so please get in touch if you are interested in finding out how this can work for you.
We joined the steering group to help shape the tools available to you to help you maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of you and your employees. The Work Place Wellbeing Award is a way of taking you through easy steps and adjustments to help minimise workplace absenteeism and empower your employees to help you champion healthier working styles.
It is an incredibly challenging time for business owners focused on the daily tasks, but the team at NYCC are onhand to provide you with advice and guidance so you can get support for you and your team now so you remain fit and healthy.
