|
Transforming towns and city centres
Sector: Central Government
Date Created: Mon 4th Feb 2008, 12:23:35
Source: Scottish Government
Link : www.scotland.gov.uk
UK - Support for projects designed to breathe new life into Scottish town and
city centres is to be extended, it was announced.
Building on the Government's plan to reduce and for some companies to remove
business rates,
from April 1, towns around Scotland will be able to apply for a one-off grant
to help launch their own Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
A BID is an area of a town, city, commercial district or rural area, where local
businesses vote to invest collectively in local improvements, services and projects
for the benefit of the community.
Visiting a pilot project in Falkirk, one of six across Scotland, the Cabinet
Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth said BIDs had a key role to play
in the regeneration of town centres.
Cabinet Secretary John Swinney said:
"Our town and city centres should be the
beating heart of Scotland's economic revival - the drivers of economic
growth both locally and nationally.
"This Government's plan for reducing and removing business rates
will bring direct benefits to small businesses which are the lifeblood
of our high streets. It is vital that this measure gains Parliamentary support
to enhance the prospects for growth in our local towns.
"By reforming and refocusing our enterprise networks we are giving local
authorities an enhanced role in local economic development. This
will ensure that local businesses - vital to flourishing town centres -
can access all the advice they need in one place, creating a more
seamless and efficient support service.
"BIDs can bring together the key players in transforming towns and cities
and make a real difference to the centre of our communities.
"Having seen how the six pilots have worked, including this project in
Falkirk, and the enthusiasm among the business community, I believe BIDs
can play an important and positive role across Scotland.
"I urge communities to come forward with proposals for their own BID."
The origins of BIDs can be traced to 1960s Canada. Around 1,400 have now been
established worldwide.
Over the two years 2006-08, the Scottish Government has provided
support for the BID pilot programme, allocating around £1.1
million to support the six BID pilots (in Bathgate, Clackmannanshire,
Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and Inverness), to fund the BID Scotland
Project Director and to provide marketing and guidance, including
the website. The Scottish Government has also put in place the legislative
framework necessary to underpin local BID proposals.
The pilot programme has allowed the six areas to develop their proposals and
to demonstrate the benefits to be gained from BID projects. The six pilots are
due to hold ballots on whether to establish permanent BIDs in the coming weeks
and months. New BID developments have been proposed for Dunfermline and Alloa
town centres, and there is considerable interest from other areas of Scotland.
Central support from the Scottish Government for the BIDs programme
is set to continue in 2008-09 and beyond. In addition, from April
1, one-off Government support of up to £15,000 will be available
as 'seedcorn' funding for each new BID project that comes forward
(subject to some minimum criteria). These grants will be intended
to act as a catalyst to enable partnership working and the development
of realistic BID proposals that are likely to be attractive to local
private and public sector stakeholders (including the local authority).
A BID is a precisely-defined geographical area of a town, city, commercial district
or rural area, where local businesses have voted to invest collectively
in local improvements, in addition to those delivered by statutory authorities.
BIDs often take the form of partnership arrangements through which the local
business community
and statutory authorities can take forward projects and services to benefit the
business community.
A steering group is usually established which identifies the projects to be included
in a business plan. A BID proposal in Scotland can only go ahead
if more than half the businesses vote in favour and they represent
more than half of the aggregate rateable value of those businesses.
|
