Business Improvement District (BID) elections 2022

We held a ballot on a proposal to renew the Chelmsford Business Improvement District (BID) in November 2022.

Results

Business in Chelmsford have votes in favour of renewing the Chelmsford For You Business Improvement District for the city centre.

The votes cast in favour were 100 (71%) and the total value of the hereditaments for the votes cast in favour was £14,748,250 (80%).

The total turnout by eligible ratepayer for the election was 32%.

About the BID

A BID is a defined area where business rate payers pay a levy in addition to the business rates bill. This levy funds projects to benefit businesses in the local area. These projects may include:

marketing and promotion
events
area management

We ran a ballot in 2018, which led to the creation of a BID for Chelmsford city centre, managed by Chelmsford For You (formerly known as One Chelmsford). This BID was due to end in March 2023 and therefore we held a renewal ballot.

The BID is managed by Chelmsford For You, and they were also responsible for the BID renewal proposals.

Eligibility

Businesses were able to vote in this ballot if they:

were liable for non-domestic rates
were located within the geographical area of the BID
had a rateable value of over £15,000

If the business was exempt from paying the BID levy, they were not be eligible to vote.