BID myth busting

FACT: St Albans City Centre BID is an independent, not-for-profit company led by a voluntary Board of local business and community leaders. The Board is responsible for strategic direction, financial oversight and delivery of the Business Plan. The BID works alongside St Albans City & District Council and other partners, but it is a separate organisation and decisions about BID priorities and investment are made by the BID Board.

FACT: No. BID-funded services are additional to the Council’s agreed Baseline Services. The BID works with the Council and other partners to deliver additional benefits for businesses and to advocate for investment in the City Centre wherever it can.

FACT: The BID levy is separate from business rates. It is calculated using each eligible property’s rateable value and creates a ring-fenced fund for delivery of the Business Plan within the BID area.

FACT: The opposite is proposed for year one. The new Business Plan reduces the levy rate from 2.19% to 1.85% in the first year of the proposed term, while still committing approximately £3.1 million on behalf of St Albans businesses over five years. From year two, the levy rate is planned to increase by 3% annually, as set out in the Business Plan.

FACT: The BID listens to individual businesses and supports them where it can, but it cannot deliver every individual request. The focus is on projects and services that benefit the wider City Centre business community – things individual businesses could not achieve alone.

FACT: The Business Plan sets the priorities for the five-year term, but the BID will continue listening and adapting as business needs change. The Board may vary service delivery and expenditure while continuing to deliver the agreed Business Plan.

FACT: The May 2026 survey received 187 responses – more than one in three levy-paying businesses – and 89.3% of respondents confirmed they were aware of the BID and its activities. A further 83% supported the continuation of BID newsletters and social communications. The BID communicates through newsletters, social media, its website, business visits, networking events, meetings, SMS and direct conversations, and continues to look for ways to reach levy payers clearly and consistently.

FACT: Businesses consistently tell the BID they value many of its established activities, so successful initiatives continue. But the BID does not stand still. Business feedback has helped shape the new Business Plan and its three priorities – Celebrated, Welcoming and Supported – with a stronger focus on sustainability, business support, City Centre insight and cost reduction programmes.

FACT: The company is forecast to carry forward reserves of circa £100,000. The Business Plan states that these would be sufficient to cover ballot costs should the need arise. Thereafter, reserves are retained to cover unexpected or exceptional costs, shortfalls against forecast levy income and periods when the company is awaiting levy receipts from the Council, particularly towards the start of the financial year.

FACT: There is no automatic replacement for the BID. If it’s not renewed, St Albans City Centre BID will cease operating at the end of its current term on 31 March 2027. BID-funded flowers and floral displays, bunting, Christmas lights and installations, City Centre events and activations would end, along with services including ShopSafe, destination marketing, business communications, networking, business support and representation. Approximately £3.1 million of proposed BID investment over the following five years would no longer be available through the BID.

FACT: St Albans City Centre BID is business-led. The new Business Plan has been shaped through ongoing engagement with levy payers, including business visits, one-to-one conversations, Board discussions and the May 2026 business survey, which received 187 responses – more than one in three levy-paying businesses. The Business Plan sets the priorities for the next five years, and the BID will continue listening and adapting as business needs change.

FACT: Every vote matters. For the BID to continue, the ballot must achieve both a majority of votes cast in favour and a majority of the aggregate rateable value represented by those voting in favour. If the required thresholds are not met, St Albans City Centre BID will cease operating at the end of the current term on 31 March 2027, and BID-funded activity will end.