Agenda item

Report of Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy

Purpose of report

A)           To provide an update on progress to establish the creation of Banbury Business Improvement District (BID.

B)           To seek the endorsement of the Executive for a recommendation to Council to approve:

a.            The casting of a positive vote in favour of creating a BID for Banbury in the ballot in relation to the Council’s eligible property (hereditaments);

C)          To seek the endorsement of the Executive for a recommendation to Council to approve, subject to a positive ballot, the Council:

a.            To subsidise part of the annual costs of collecting the Levy on behalf of the BID within a budget ceiling for a maximum five year period and for the Chief Financial Officer to make the appropriate arrangements;

b.            To provide a bridging loan to the BID to support its establishment and for repayment within a three year period and for the Chief Financial Officer to make the appropriate arrangements.

c.            To meet the costs of creating the BID Levy collection system and for the Chief Financial Officer to make the appropriate arrangements.

Recommendations

The Executive is recommended to propose to Council that a number of decisions are taken to prepare for the creation of the Banbury Business Improvement District (BID), subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses. It is recommended: 

1.1         To delegate authority for the Director – Strategy & Commissioning to vote in favour of the BID at the Ballot on behalf of all Council-owned hereditaments.

1.2         To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to meet the actual one-off capital cost, estimated to be £20,000 to create the necessary collection system.

1.3         To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to subsidise a proportion of the annual revenue costs to collect the BID levy for a maximum period of five years of £9,000 a year.

1.4         To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to provide a bridging loan of up to £50,000 to the Banbury BID to cover the set-up, operational and project costs in its start up phase to be entirely repaid to the Council within three years. The loan would be subject to an appropriate legal agreement being entered into to govern the drawdown loan facility and all financial requirements being satisfied.

Resolved

(1)          That authority be delegated to the Director – Strategy & Commissioning to vote in favour of the BID at the Ballot on behalf of all Council-owned hereditaments.

(2)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to meet the actual one-off capital cost, estimated to be £20,000 to create the necessary collection system.

(3)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to subsidise a proportion of the annual revenue costs to collect the BID levy for a maximum period of five years of £9,000 a year.

(4)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to provide a bridging loan of up to £50,000 to the Banbury BID to cover the set-up, operational and project costs in its start-up phase to be entirely repaid to the Council within three years. The loan would be subject to an appropriate legal agreement being entered into to govern the drawdown loan facility and all financial requirements being satisfied.

The Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy submitted a report to provide an update on progress to establish the creation of Banbury Business Improvement District (BID) and to delegate authority to the Director – Strategy and Commissioning to cast a positive vote in favour of creating a BID for Banbury in the ballot in relation to the Council’s eligible property (hereditaments)

The report also sought the endorsement of the Executive for a recommendation to Council to approve, subject to a positive ballot, the council subsidising part of the annual costs of collecting the Levy on behalf of the BID within a budget ceiling for a maximum five year period, to provide a bridging loan to the BID to support its establishment and for repayment within a three year period .

Resolved

(1)          That authority be delegated to the Director – Strategy & Commissioning to vote in favour of the BID at the Ballot on behalf of all Council-owned hereditaments.

(2)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to meet the actual one-off capital cost, estimated to be £20,000 to create the necessary collection system.

(3)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to subsidise a proportion of the annual revenue costs to collect the BID levy for a maximum period of five years of £9,000 a year.

(4)          That, subject to a positive ‘yes’ ballot of businesses and approval of budgets by Full Council, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the relevant Lead Member to provide a bridging loan of up to £50,000 to the Banbury BID to cover the set-up, operational and project costs in its start-up phase to be entirely repaid to the Council within three years. The loan would be subject to an appropriate legal agreement being entered into to govern the drawdown loan facility and all financial requirements being satisfied.

Reasons

The BID proposal for Banbury has progressed to timetable and has published its five year business plan as a basis for a ballot to be held on 14 November 2017.

Subject to a positive ‘yes’ vote, the BID will become operational from April 2018. Following the recommendations set out in the report, the Council will prepare its systems to collect the Levy and work with the BID to establish itself to contribute to the mutual objective of adding economic ‘vitality’ to central Banbury.

The recommendations of the report concern the amount of financial support to provide in the forms of a loan and annual subsidy. The recommendations also seek delegation of decisions within previously approved budgets and approval for officers to cast a positive ‘yes’ vote on behalf of the Council to support the establishment of the Banbury BID for each of its hereditaments with the BID area.

Alternative options

Alternative Options:

·           To reduce or remove financial support in providing the bridging loan and/or subsidising the levy collection.

·           To vote against the creation of a BID in the ballot via the Council’s 15 eligible hereditaments

The above options are not recommended because:

·           The development of the Banbury BID and its draft business plan reflect the support and guidance provided by Cherwell District Council to date.

·           The establishment of the Banbury BID and the implementation of the business plan have been designed to strengthen the ‘economic vitality’ of the town centre.

·           The draft business plan is sensitive to the costs of levy collection and aims to be set at the level set in other BIDs to reduce the risk of a ‘no’ vote.

·           Without the proposed bridging loan the BID would be delayed in its creation and therefore in its delivery of action to strengthen the ‘economic vitality’ of the town centre.

·           It would forgo the opportunity to support a project that has been led by the businesses of Banbury which has the potential to draw additional resources to actions to promote the town to the benefit of the town and its business community.