An Effective Voice For Local Business
The first UK Business Improvement District -BID – was founded in 2005 and there are now over 300 across the country.
A BID is established by a ballot of businesses in a defined area and is managed by a representative board of local business owners.
Each BID term lasts for five-years and must then go to re-ballot, giving businesses the opportunity to vote for or against a further term.
Therefore the success or failure of BID operations are judged at re-ballot.
After a ballot the BID levy is mandatory for all eligible businesses in the defined BID area who are above the threshold set in the BID proposal. Income is principally generated through the levy contribution which is based on the rateable value of the business premises. The income of the varied BID locations across the UK, range from as little as £55,000 up to £2.7 million per year, meaning operations of individual BIDs will be relative to their income. Blue Bermondsey receives circa £100,00 in levy. Being a unified voice for businesses has enabled us to attract substantial additional funding and investment into the area.
The BID levy is collected by the Southwark Council on behalf of the BID and invoices are issued for the amount due at the start of the financial year in April. Blue Bermondsey then invoices the Council for the amount collected each month.
BID member services are extremely varied, ranging from initiatives to reduce operating costs for members, making the area safer, improving the way it looks and feels, providing a calendar of events, to forging links with the local community, the local Council, stakeholder organisations and strategic agencies.
Southwark is also home to four neighbouring BID’s, whose work has been vastly instrumental in helping to regenerate their locations and deliver positive benefits for their business members. Together we formed the Southwark BID forum and meet every quarter to exchange ideas and work with the Council and relative strategic bodies to address the collective challenges faced by our business members.
South Bank BID was set up in 2014 by South Bank Employers’ Group and is dedicated to providing a strong voice for the 180 local businesses and providing additional resources for the benefit of visitors, employees and residents.
We are Waterloo BID have helped boost the areas food culture with its own food festival. In October 2012, the BID took on the management of Lower Marsh Market from the Council that has seen the market prosper and attract a new generation of stall holders and visitors.
Better Bankside BID has transformed this once run down and forgotten corner of the capital to become a major destination for visitors and investors from across the world. They have delivered groundbreaking initiatives for their member businesses and the local community.
Team London Bridge BID have have helped local businesses embrace and shape the enormous changes brought about by the recent expansion and redevelopment of London Bridge station, making this historic district an even more vibrant and attractive location.
The Southwark BID Map
