Each month I write a special “Kev’s Column” for the Torbay Times. In this month’s edition I take a look at plans for a TBID:
Business Improvement Districts (BID) have been around for some time, but plans for a Tourism BID (TBID) have now been put forward with some exciting ideas about what it could deliver for the bay.
BIDs were initially designed to help High Streets compete with shopping centres and out of town malls. Services or events arranged for an area would benefit most traders, yet without a BID mechanism a few could be left footing the bill, giving the upper hand to centres that pay for such activities through management fees.
The TBID plan envisages delivering services aimed at enhancing Torbay as a visitor destination and promoting effectively what is on offer here, based on a similar scheme in Bournemouth. Whilst the idea has come to the fore during debates about future funding for the successful ERTC, it is something that bears consideration in its own right.
Before any BID can be created those businesses covered by it have to be balloted on the plan. A simple majority on the basis of numbers and rateable value is all that is needed by law, but in reality a decisive result would be necessary to justify it being enforced. A BID proposal in Brixham was defeated when put to the vote.
Businesses will therefore need to be reassured that this is not just about paying an extra levy, but delivering services beyond the minimum that would be funded from other sources. If retail is included, as is currently suggested, there will need to be a specific package of services, or only certain areas covered. A beachfront business would clearly benefit from more tourist visitors, a neighbourhood corner shop is very unlikely to.
In deciding on a TBID we have to be realistic that the competition we face for holidaymakers is only going to grow and if other destinations actively market themselves and offer services we do not, further decline is inevitable.
There is a lot of work to be done before a TBID can be put to a vote, but I hope when it does there will be a successful outcome based on a strong vision of what the bay has to offer. If not it is hard to see how any Plan B will be better for either local businesses or the bay as a whole.