Bromley Council has supported the initiation of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Bromley town centre. The BID is a private corporation that has legal powers to charge nearly all the businesses in the area a levy which it intends to use for local projects such as street-cleaning, improving security and marketing. It aims to raise over £500,000 a year over the next five years.
Bromley BID is attractive because it can raise more funds for the town centre from local businesses than Bromley Council can offer from its own dwindling budget. However, unlike Bromley Council, Bromley BID is not accountable in any way to the public.
The Council is considering whether budgets for a number of town-centre services such as cleaning should be passed over to the BID for delivery but it has not specified which services these might be or how accountability to the public will be maintained.
The BRRA has a representative on the Bromley BID Advisory Committee which meets quarterly and questions or concerns can be directed either via the BRRA Committee or directly to the BID Manager, Frances Forrest frances@yourbromley.com.