Desirables

'Desirables' for any BID proposals

In addition to the ‘essentials’ of any BID proposal there are preferred aspects which include:

Additional Funding – The BID levy should be supplemented by additional funding. It is appreciated that this may be limited in any start-up BID, but evidence of growth in additional funding over the lifetime of a BID, and certainly onwards beyond any renewal, is expected.

Management Costs – Other than in exceptional circumstances, centralised operational costs (administration, office, centralised staff etc) should not exceed 20% of total expenditure. A ‘centralised cost’ is defined as something which cannot be wholly attributed to one aspect of the BID’s delivery.

Empty Property Relief – If a hereditament should become untenanted, the freeholder should become responsible for payment of the levy until a new tenant is found.

Refunds – Payment of the BID levy should be calculated on a daily charging basis and so mirroring the NNDR system. This would mean that a refund is made if a property is disposed of and liability transfers. This is considered less important with some industrial BIDs where refunds could increase collection and administration costs.

Contingencies – The BID should be able to achieve its objectives with a budget for a collection rate of less than 100% of the chargeable levy. The budgeted collection rate should be explicitly stated. Budgeting based upon a collection rate of 97% is advised. It should also have a contingency of no less than 5% on all items of expenditure.

Exclusions – A threshold should be put in place to ensure that small hereditaments are excluded if the cost of collection would make their inclusion uneconomic.

Collection Costs – The costs of collecting the levy should be kept to an absolute minimum, or ideally should be at no cost to the BID. If charges are necessary, they should not exceed £35 per hereditament, or 3% of levy income.

Registration – All confirmed developing BIDs (including renewal) should complete a ‘Registration Form’. This document can be found at www.britishbids.info. This should be maintained throughout the development phase.

Politics – The BID should be non-political.