Penrith’s Business Improvement District – which oversees the town’s Christmas lights among other initiatives – has not been given the go-ahead for a third term.
A ballot for town business levy payers was held on November 30 on the proposal for a third, five-year, term of the Penrith BID, taking it up to 2028.
Two threshold tests needed to be met for the ballot to be successful – more than 50 per cent of the turnout must be in favour of the BID; and the positive vote must represent more than 50 per cent of the Rateable Value of the votes cast.
The total number of votes cast, excluding rejected ballot papers, was 115, representing a rateable value of £2,642,650. The votes in favour were 89, representing a rateable value of £1,084,850.
A majority of the business ratepayers in the proposed BID area voted in favour of the proposal, but not by aggregate rateable value.
As not all the threshold tests were met, the proposal for a third term of Penrith BID has not been approved, said a spokesman for Eden Council.
Business Improvement Districts are business led partnerships which are created through a ballot process to deliver additional services to local businesses.
They can be a powerful tool for directly involving local firms and allow the business community and local authorities to work together to improve the local trading environment.
