A BID is a business-led and funded partnership, where businesses within a defined area invest money together to make the improvements they identify for their trading environment. The money generated is targeted only at the Our Aberdare programme.

Our Aberdare will be funded by a 1.5% levy on the total rateable value (RV) of all hereditaments, or business units, within the defined BID boundary with an RV of £5,000 or more. Businesses with a total RV below this threshold will be exempt but can make a voluntary contribution. The levy will be based on the RV as of 2nd January 2020 (the date of the notification of ballot).

You can calculate your levy by multiplying your RV by 1.5%. Please feel free contact Our Aberdare BID to talk through the business plan and discuss how much you will contribute. Dawn Penny can be contacted on 07947373489 or info@ouraberdare.com

If your business is within the defined BID boundaries and has a rateable value above £5,000 you will be eligible to vote and thus pay the BID levy, if the ballot returns a ‘YES’ vote.

The BID can only be set up after a successful ballot of businesses in Aberdare. On 16th January you will be sent a ballot paper by post asking whether you support the formation of the BID. To be successful, the ballot must pass on two majorities: 1. By the number of businesses voting (over 50% of votes cast must vote YES) 2. By the total RV (over 50% of the total RV of all votes cast must vote YES)

If both these conditions are met the BID will be established and the BID levy will become mandatory for all eligible hereditaments within the BID area – this includes those owned by the borough council and other public bodies. The BID will then run for five years (2020-2025), when a renewal ballot would be held and businesses take another vote to decide whether the BID continues or not.

The BID levy will be collected on an annual basis and we have commissioned the borough council to collect the levy on our behalf as a separate bill. The levy will be fixed for five years based on the RV as of 2 nd January (the date of the notification of ballot). Our Aberdare will be clear and transparent about how it is spending the money. There will be regularly updated information about income and expenditure available to all members of the BID.

Yes, the council has a number of properties in the town centre and will be levy payers, as would other public bodies.

To ensure that services will be additional to what is already delivered. Our Aberdare will have a baseline agreement with the borough council, which details the services they currently deliver. The baseline agreements will include public conveniences, street cleansing, highways maintenance, town centre management, car parks, CCTV and licensing including taxis, alcohol, street trading and late-night food. BID funds are ONLY for projects in addition to those delivered by the local councils and can only be spent to improve the area in which they are raised.

If a YES vote is achieved an independent, not-for-profit company will be established. This will continue to be led by the private sector – by a board of directors who represent the businesses in Aberdare and by theme groups also drawn from local businesses, who will meet to oversee specific projects in the programme’s four main strands. There will be lots of opportunities for businesses to get involved.