Agenda item

(Further to a declaration of a Personal and Pecuniary Interest, as outlined at item 37 above, Councillor Naomi Tweddle left the meeting during the consideration of this item.)

(Councillor Donald Nannestad, Vice- Chair chaired this item).

Purpose of Report

To present to committee the Lincoln Business Improvement Group (BIG) ballot arrangements and to seek Executive views on how the nominated officer should vote in the ballot using the votes attributable to council properties within the Business Improvement District (BID) designated area.

Decision

That the Chief Finance Officer be instructed to cast votes for City Council properties with a ‘yes’ to the continuation of Lincoln Business Improvement Group for the next 5 years, in the upcoming ballot.

Alternative Options Considered

The alternative would be to mandate officers to vote ‘no’ in the ballot. As covered in the main body of the report this would lead to a full range of activities being closed down. At a time where city centres needed dedicated support to help them evolve into new and exciting places, the role of BIG in creating those visitor experiences would be lost with a ‘no’ vote, which would have a large impact on the vibrancy of the city centre.

Reason for Decision

The Lincoln Business Improvement Group would be undertaking its fifth voting process from September to November 2024 for its operational period July 2025 to June 2030. A workshop for all members of the Council was held on 18 September 2024 where the full extent and remit of Business Improvement Group operations were discussed and a range of views expressed, which were reported to Policy Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 1 October 2024. (copy of minutes appended to the report)

The Lincoln Business Group Business Plan 2025-2026 was appended to the report. This set out priorities up to 2030, together with the proposed annual budget and the benefits of the Business Improvement Group.

The report set out the ballot process that would be followed, with the ballot itself being held on Monday 25 November 2024.

The BIG Board, at its meeting on 20 August 2024 approved a bid levy rate increase from 1% to 1.75%. According to the documentation supplied to the Board, this increase brought them into line with BIDs around the country, where the average was now 1.7%. For the City Council this would increase its overall BID levy charge from £30,877.05 to £47,417.13 (based on current figures). This did not yet include the Cornhill market as it was taken out during the refurbishment so would be assessed and brought back into listings imminently.

Clearly this was a large increase for many businesses in the BID area, softened for those whose rateable value had decreased in the 2023 list for business rates.

The BID Ballot process 2024 and levy mechanics was set out in paragraph 4 and 5 of the report respectively.

The impacts of a ‘yes’ vote and a ‘no’ vote were set out in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the report respectively.