BID meeting with Buxton businesses postponed

The meeting was due to take place at the Devonshire Dome on Tuesday February 27 with the intention of forming a steering group to spearhead the BID, which would see eligible businesses paying a levy towards town improvements.

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However the meeting has now been postponed, with Vision Buxton citing the discovery of new information "which affects the timing of the whole process".

A statement on its website said: "The referendum required to adopt (or not) a BID proposal, as and when drawn up, must be conducted by High Peak Borough Council, which is not in a position to do so before summer 2019 due to council elections in spring that year.

"It is also the case that funding to develop a BID proposal will not be available until later this year.

"Vision Buxton is making further enquiries and will reschedule the meeting, probably in April, when more detailed information will be available."

A BID is a formal arrangement which involves businesses paying towards the cost of improvements they would like to make to their trading environment.

It would require businesses in Buxton with a rateable value of £5,000 or above to pay a levy for a five-year period or face court action.

In order to enforce the levy, a referendum would need to return a vote of 50.1 per cent in favour.