Dear Nick & Caro – New BID for Justice
An Open Letter from NIGEL WARD to the respective CEOs, HoPS and Returning Officers of SBC and ERYC, drawing their attention to a forthcoming revision to the terms under which Yorkshire Coast BID Ltd extorts a Levy from local businesses.
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Mr Nick EDWARDS – CEO , HoPS and Returning Officer – SBC (Lead authority)
Mrs Caroline LACEY – CEO, HoPS and REturning Officer – ERYC (Support authority)
IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Nick/Caroline,
I write, in my customary spirit of helpfulness, to draw to your attention to information recently received, knowledge of which may not yet have impinged on your corporate awareness.
A reader has kindly pointed out that the Business Rate status of a business presently liable to the YCBID Levy is about to change – rather dramatically, if I may venture to say.
This circumstance arises in consequence of the provisions in the government’s Autumn Statement:
In light of this rather serendipitous announcement, it was soon dicovered that the business concerned is about to enjoy a REDUCED valuation in respect of Business Rates, from £12,500 down to only £10,000 – a reduction of 20%:
Clearly, this reduction will have the effect of placing the business concerned well under the present threshold for liability for the Levy, as of 1st April 2023.
This means that, for the last 16 months of Yorkshire Coast BID Ltd’s present mandate, not only this business but, in all likelihood, many other businesses, will no longer be liable for the Levy.
Equally clearly, this can be expected to have a significant negative impact on the financial viability of Yorkshire Coast BID Ltd – perhaps sufficiently so as to require both of your Council’s to reconsider the possible application of Article 18 of the BID regulations: TERMINATION.
I hope you will both have the good sense and common courtesy to respond to this Open Letter as soon as possible, correcting me if I am mistaken, in the best interests of all those business who, in my view, quite rightly have refused to pay the Levy.
At the very least, I call upon you both to set this new information before the Courts – that would be the sensible and honourable course of action.
Considered in the context of the astonishing faux pas surrounding the applicability of VAT in the Councils/BID relationship, this may provide an avenue of escape that you both may be desperately eager to embrace.
Happy days!
Always happy to be of service. It is likely that I may have more to say on these topics, so please do keep an eye on the North Yorks Enquirer – your ‘go to’ source of important local government news.
Yours, with very kind regards,
Nigel
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