Over the past six months, businesses located within Cardiff city centre have been working to develop a proposal for a city centre Business Improvement District (BID). Cardiff is one of a handful of UK cities currently without a BID, yet it has the potential to become one of the largest BID areas in the country investing £7.5m in business priorities over an initial five year period.

A business Task Group has prepared a draft business plan setting out ideas for businesses to self-fund projects, for the benefit of all businesses. There are over 30 ideas included in the Plan, and these have come directly from city centre businesses during numerous consultations and discussions over the last 6 months. The Plan explains how the BID will focus on encouraging people to visit more often, stay longer and invest more in the city centre. There are three key themes – making the city centre more Welcoming; Vibrant; and Influential. The Plan will work with all business sectors to enhance the overall experience for city centre visitors, shoppers, students and workers alike.

Whilst Cardiff is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, with a rising population, new development and investment, the proposed Cardiff BID is a key piece in the jigsaw, which opens the door for all business sectors to work together, with their own funds, to make city centre wide improvements.

At the launch, the Manager of Marks and Spencer Simon Philips, who chairs the Task Group set up to drive the BID forward, said:

“We believe that the time is right for a Cardiff Business Improvement District, to encourage people to visit more often, stay longer and invest more in the city centre. Cardiff is one of the last remaining UK cities without a BID and whilst our city centre is performing well, our competitors are adopting BID’s to become more organised and are investing significantly in making their city centres great places to visit, meet, study, work and invest. The BID is a powerful way to develop and manage the environment in which we all operate, providing business leadership for an area and acting as a stimulus for visible improvements, but importantly it also provides a united voice of influence and opinion. We want to hear even more views from businesses and hope the ideas in this draft plan will prompt greater discussion leading towards a ballot of businesses and a convincing YES vote in June 2016”.

Local independent businessman and Peppermint Bar owner Bruno Nunes is supporting the BID for Cardiff. Bruno has experience of working with BIDs elsewhere including in Swansea. Bruno said

“Put simply, BID’s are about businesses working together for the improvement of the city centre. Businesses will have the opportunity to sit at the table of all the key decision making forums of our city thus aiding the our representation far better than anything else has done in the past”

BIDS are funded by the businesses within a defined BID area. If these businesses vote yes for the BID, in a ballot scheduled for June 2016, this will raise over £1.5m per year for five years, equating to £7.5 million to deliver the improvements that will directly benefit business and the city. If the BID vote is successful, all eligible businesses will pay a levy of circa 1% of the rateable value of the business. Smaller businesses with a rateable value of less than £25,000, it is proposed, will be exempt from paying the levy. The BID levy is an investment and typically for every £1 invested, businesses can expect to see a £3 return.

All 970 eligible business premises located within the proposed BID area are receiving a copy of the draft business plan in the post over the next few weeks. The BID Task Group hope the ideas in this draft plan will prompt greater discussion and generate even more views from businesses and leading towards a ballot of businesses and a convincing YES vote in June 2016. Two business meetings are scheduled to discuss the draft plan, one for 8.30am and another for 6pm on Thursday 25th February in the Motorpoint Arena. Please register to attend by emailing [email protected].