To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Cllr Phil White

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008.

None

The Group Manager - Strategic Regeneration presented a report which sought cabinet approval to;

1)    Note the contents of the report and approve the financial arrangements as detailed within it.

2)    Delegate authority to the leader of the council to cast the Council’s votes in the BID Ballot. The report recommended that the authority agreed to vote yes in favour if the alteration ballot.

3)    Delegate authority to the relevant chief officers in the event of a successful BID alteration to the ballot to approve, finalise and execute the terms of the deed of variation to the baseline services agreement and the operating agreement with the BID Company.

The Group Manager - Strategic Regeneration reported that reports were presented to Cabinet in May and June 2016 which detailed the process of establishing the Bridgend Business Improvement District (BID) for the CF31 area. Following a ‘Yes’ vote, the BID and the CF31 Business Improvement District Company Ltd (“The BID Company”) which  manages the BID was established and has been operational since 1^st October 2016. 

The Group Manager - Strategic Regeneration explained that the Bid Renewal document within the report was sent to the owners of the hereditaments which detailed the proposed changes to the BID. The  proposed alterations were as follows;

• Boundary - the BID Boundary be redrawn and a map of the boundary under the alteration proposals is attached at Appendix 1 to this Report. This adds another 12 hereditaments to the boundary area.

• Rateable value – the rateable value of hereditaments within the boundary is changed from £6,000 to £5,000.

• The Levy payment is increased from 1.25% to 1.5%.

• The proposed BID term will be five years in duration from 1st October 2019 to 30th September 2024.

The Group Manager - Strategic Regeneration explained the Ballot timetable which outlined the Action, Regulation Requirements and the Alteration Ballot.    The Group Manager – Strategic Regeneration explained the financial implications to the Council over a 5 year period as a business rate payer in that the Council has six properties in its ownership within the proposed BID area in the event of a Yes vote.  

The Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration expressed his support for the BID alteration proposals and thanked the Group Manager – Strategic Regeneration for presenting the comprehensive report. He clarified that the BID was not a Council project but rather a town trader’s initiative. He also stated that he was happy that the proposed term would be 5 years, as opposed to the current term which was 3 years, as 5 years was a standard term for a BID.

The Group Manager - Strategic Regeneration explained that the BID helped to provide non statutory services, which have not been able to be provided for many years in the town centre and added that  businesses who were not part of the BID would  likely benefit from it.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration was pleased with the positive engagement from businesses which showed their commitment to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 401.