Agenda item

To consider a report (which includes a confidential appendix) by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for the Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) updating Cabinet on the development of the Llangollen Business Improvement District and seeking support for its establishment.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration;

(b)       notes the contents of the BID Business Plan (Appendix 2 to the report) and the officer recommendation that there are no grounds on which to Veto under the BID Wales (2005) Legislation (Appendix 3 to the report) as it does not conflict with any existing local policy nor propose a disproportionate burden on particular businesses in the area;

(c)        agrees to support the establishment of the BID by voting ‘Yes’ in the BID ballot in respect of each of the Council’s eligible rateable properties in the BID area, and

(d)       agrees to delegate authority to the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm to cast the votes in respect of each of the Council’s eligible rateable properties in the BID area.

Councillor Hugh Evans presented the report on the development of the Llangollen Business Improvement District (BID) and sought support for its establishment.

BIDs gave local business the power to get together, decide what improvements they wanted to make within a specific area, and to raise funds to deliver them.  Some background was provided regarding work undertaken with the local business community to determine the feasibility of a Llangollen BID together with the bid development process and legalities in that regard.  The next stage involved a postal ballot for eligible businesses to vote ‘for’ or ‘against’ the BID proposal which set out how the BID would function (proposed income, expenditure, BID area and performance measures) and how the BID would be spent.  The proviso was that activities must be in addition to services provided by local authorities.  It was recommended that Cabinet support the establishment of the BID by voting ‘Yes’ in the BID ballot for each of the Council’s eligible rateable properties in the BID area.

In advocating the recommendations Councillor Evans submitted that Llangollen had always been an ambitious and busy town and if the BID was established it would help businesses invest in their priorities and future sustainability.  Councillor Tony Thomas added his support believing the businesses in Llangollen to be very receptive to establishing a BID which he considered would greatly benefit the town.

Councillor Graham Timms advised that both he and fellow local member Councillor Melvyn Mile were keen supporters of establishing a BID but raised questions regarding (1) the report reference to schools being exempt from the levy given that they were located outside the BID area, (2) the impact of the Council exercising its vote on behalf of Llangollen Pavilion given its subsequent transfer to Denbighshire Leisure Limited, and (3) queried the number of voters, council sites and total rateable value of those council sites in the BID area.  In response officers –

·         confirmed that the BID levy was only payable for premises within the defined BID area but noted the reference to schools being exempt from paying the levy in the report – further clarity on the position of the two schools would be sought

·         referred to the position in respect of the ballot which would close on 19 March 2020 and explained that those businesses entitled to vote would be those eligible to vote at that time – any business could change ownership at any point but the ballot had to be held and closed at a particular time and the levy would apply irrespective of the change of ownership.  Councillor Tony Thomas added that, notwithstanding the transfer of Llangollen Pavilion to the Alternative Delivery Model, the BID levy for the Pavilion would remain payable

·         advised there were approximately 200 businesses eligible to vote in the ballot which included approximately 10 council properties – the figures around the total rateable value had not been included in the report.

In response to a final question from Councillor Mark Young officers confirmed that most of the Economic Development Team’s time and resource on the project had been undertaken in the initial feasibility work and development of the proposal – moving forward from this stage did not require a significant resource.

The Leader asked Cabinet to vote on each of the recommendations individually.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report) as part of its consideration;

(b)       notes the contents of the BID Business Plan (Appendix 2 to the report) and the officer recommendation that there are no grounds on which to Veto under the BID Wales (2005) Legislation (Appendix 3 to the report) as it does not conflict with any existing local policy nor propose a disproportionate burden on particular businesses in the area;

(c)        agrees to support the establishment of the BID by voting ‘Yes’ in the BID ballot in respect of each of the Council’s eligible rateable properties in the BID area, and

(d)       agrees to delegate authority to the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm to cast the votes in respect of each of the Council’s eligible rateable properties in the BID area.