Frequently Asked Questions
General information about the BID
Once dispatched, the ballot period runs for a minimum of 28 days; your ballot papers, therefore, need to be completed and returned before the deadline.
All BID levy paying businesses can put forward a representative to be a director.
Please contact us if you are unsure if your business is included.
The current BID term will run until 31st May 2020. If we have a successful vote for a 2nd term Penzance BID will continue to run until May 31st 2025, when businesses will decide whether to renew the BID.
Money matters
The levy is payable by all businesses within the BID area that meet the requirements. All businesses pay the levy if they are above the minimum rateable value of £6,000 per annum and are located within the BID boundary.
The BID levy is 2% of the rateable value of your business premises, as your annual business rates are in excess of £6,000 e.g for a business with rates of £6000 you will pay £120 per year for your BID levy. The levy is payable each year for the five years of the BID term. The BID levy is not a new tax, it is an investment. Unlike your business rates, the money doesn’t go to Central Government. It remains in Penzance to be spent on the priorities identified by businesses in the business plan.
The BID is a privately funded, business led initiative and does not receive funding from the government. Legal agreements with the local authority set out Baseline Agreements that outline what the public sector provides. Services provided by the BID are guaranteed to be over and above those supplied by the council’s Baseline Agreement.
Rather than the resident-driven services that councils tend to provide, the BID can offer services tailored for the business community.
The BID levy is a fund generated from a fixed percentage of a business’s rateable value and can be used on any project decided on by the businesses within the BID boundary. The Local Authority is normally the largest contributor of levy within the BID area.
Cornwall Council will collect the BID levy on behalf of the BID into a ring-fenced account and then pass it over to the BID Company. This is due to the work and cost intensive nature of administering a levy system for all businesses in the BID area.