Insider Media Limited

The business plan for the proposed Retail Business Improvement District (BID) for Nottingham City Centre has been launched.

It details what the BID will mean to local retailers and the initiatives it will help to fund.

The plan is being distributed to 575 retailers within the area covered by the proposed BID. They must vote on whther the BID is accepted or not.

Voting takes place between 4 November and 2 December with the results of the ballot to be known by on 3 December. If successful, a company will then be set up to manage the BID which would then become operational in January 2011.

Gary Rowntree, chairman of the Retail BID Steering Group, said: “We are at the critical stage in the development of the Retail BID and its important that retailers vote. Nottingham already has a strong retail offering but the city will fall behind if we don’t do something. Doing nothing isn’t an option. The BID is all about delivering projects and services that retailers themselves have decided will make a real difference to them and we now have a comprehensive plan with clear measurable outcomes.

“It is important to remember that the money collected through the levy is being raised by businesses for their benefit and will be spent on initiatives that they have identified as being important,” he added.

“Collectively it will accomplish a great deal – much more than what individual retailers could hope to achieve on their own - and it is all designed to improve the Nottingham shopping experience for the benefits of shoppers and retailers.

“I would urge retailers to vote 'yes' in the forthcoming ballot. For local retailers with their head offices here in the city, it is you that will have the vote. For retailers whose head office is elsewhere, they will have the vote but it is important that you encourage them to vote 'yes' on your behalf because it will make a real difference to your local business performance.”