Councillor says he'll resign over BID vote

Cllr Andy Beech. 

A town councillor has said he would resign in protest after the council agreed to vote in favour of the proposed Llangollen Business Improvement District (BID).

At the end of the meeting at which the issue was discussed last night (Tuesday) independent member Andy Beech accused fellow members of being “hellbent on the destruction of small businesses.”

Businesses across town above a rateable value of £2,500 are currently voting on whether they wish to be involved in the scheme which aims to boost the area’s trading potential by raising extra cash on top of their rates to pay for projects over and above what the local authority would finance. This would include marketing and promotion and parking.

There is also the hope that by launching a BID Llangollen would attract inward investment from the Welsh Government and other agencies.   

As an organisation which owns premises – the Town Hall - which fits the BID profile the council qualifies for a vote in the BID ballot, which closes on March 19 with the result being announced the following day.

During last night’s debate Cllr Robyn Lovelock said the BID process had so far been very positive and pro-active with lots of engagement.

But Cllr Beech said the BID was not for everybody and that not everyone would get the benefits from it.

Cllr Tony Baker asked what the benefits of the BID would be for the town council, which will have to pay £365 a year in levy fees if the scheme is adopted.

Town clerk Gareth Thomas replied said the authority could possibly take advantage of the facility for marketing events held at the Town Hall.

However, he stressed that money derived from the BID levy could not be used to support anything that the public purse was supposed to pay for.

Deputy mayor, Cllr Issy Richards, said town councillors were elected by the people to represent the best interests of the people and she suggested Llangollen was too small a town to be able to take advantage of A BID.

Members then voted on a proposal, put forward by Cllr Melvyn Mile, to vote in “yes” to the BID in the current ballot. This was backed by a majority of councillors.

Right at the end of the meeting Cllr Beech stood up and said: “I can no longer be part of a council that is hellbent on the destruction of small businesses and my resignation will be with the town clerk in the morning.”

More than 50 per cent of businesses who vote in the ballot must be in favour of the BID for it to go ahead.

The BID levy, which will be collected by the county council, is mandatory whether or not a business voted in the ballot.