Moray Council backs Elgin BID renewal ballot
Moray Council is backing Elgin BID’s decision to hold a renewal ballot to propose running for another five years.
A Business Improvement District (BID) is a business-led initiative where businesses come together to provide additional services and initiatives to improve the trading environment and benefit the local economy within a defined geographical area. There are currently 33 BIDs in Scotland.
BIDs are developed and managed by the business sector with projects being partly funded through a compulsory levy, with the Elgin BID levy calculated on the non-domestic rates valuation. All tenants and, if applicable, property owners, who will be subject to the levy, will be invited to vote on whether the next Elgin BID proposal will go ahead or not.
The first successful Elgin BID ballot took place in November 2009, becoming operational in February 2010 with further successful renewal ballots in 2014 and 2019. The current board is made up of 11 directors representing a cross-section of businesses with two representatives of the public sectors.
A further report will be presented to a future meeting of the Council’s Corporate Committee giving more details, including the levy and any potential future financial implications for the Council.
Chair of the Economic, Development and Infrastructure Services, Cllr Marc Macrae, said: “We’re pleased to support Elgin BID’s proposal to secure a further five-year mandate through the renewal ballot process and look forward to more details when they come to a future meeting of this committee.”
The provisional date for the announcement of ballot results is 29 November 2024.