New Business Improvement District could be created in Wrexham in attempt to boost town centre trade

Plans to make Wrexham a better place to do business have taken their first step forward.

Wrexham Council is looking into the possibility of creating a Business Improvement District (BID) covering the town centre after inviting a consultant to come forward to carry out a feasibility study.

It would see companies within a specified area pay a levy into a central kitty to fund projects to improve the trading environment.

A ballot of traders would need to be carried out before the scheme is implemented. However, it has already received a tentative welcome from members of Wrexham Town Centre Forum.

Vice chair Andy Gallanders, who runs the Bank Street Social coffee shop, said: “The Town Centre Forum supports any initiative that supports local businesses and jobs.

“We identify with the aims of a BID, it’s a way of bringing in investment and income into the town to strengthen it.

“One of the good things about BID is that it will be down to the businesses themselves to decide how the money will be spent.

“They will decide its priorities, not the council, not the Senedd nor the Houses of Parliament.”

There are currently more than 300 BIDS operating in the UK, including over the border in neighbouring Chester.
Most are not-for-profit organisations set up and run by businesses.

The maximum period the levy can be charged is for five years, after which a new ballot would need to be held to decide whether to continue.

Wayne Price from AMP Accounting, who chairs the town centre forum, has also given his backing to the idea of introducing a BID in Wrexham.

He said: “Despite the downturn in retail, Wrexham town centre still has 393 ground floor units occupied, 259 of these are independents and less than the national Welsh average in terms of empty shops.

“However, the devil is the in detail and should the businesses decide to go forward with a BID, we hope the council will continue with the same level of services in the town as now.

“There is a long way to go but we are cautiously optimistic about the potential of a town centre BID.”

Alex Jones, who owns The Bank, said: “When I attended the initial discussion on the feasibility of a BID in Wrexham I was excited by it.

“For a relatively small amount of investment 1% of my business rate we could help generate 10,000’s of pounds for the town centre.

“The key factor of the BID though is it is led by the businesses of Wrexham and that they play an integral part throughout the initial stages and implementation of what I hope will be a successful BID.

“This is not a bank account for the council to use to prop up services but a funding stream to help boost the town centre and business. By businesses coming together in the formation of a BID we will carry a lot of weight.

“We can come together and purchase services from contractors at better rates, we can put on events in the town and we can dress empty shops so they don’t look abandoned.

“Chester has a very successful BID and the businesses in the district have welcomed it for another five years.”

A spokesman for Wrexham Council said: “This is a tender to look at the possibility of a Business Improvement District, which has come about through discussions with traders – though further discussions will take place as plans for the BID develop.

“The development of a BID is a partnership process in which the council would be considered a stakeholder. As such, an impartial outside body, with the relevant expertise, would be needed in order to develop the BID.”

The deadline for tenders to be received is January 31, 2020.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme)