Hastings businesses vote to continue town investment scheme

The Business Improvement District (BID) in Hastings covers the main town centre, from the council offices to the pier and up to Morrisons at the top of Queens Road.

Within that area almost 500 businesses have had the opportunity over the past month to vote on if to keep funding everything from Christmas lights, ShopWatch, BarWatch, and CCTV, through to sponsorship of major local events and town centre planting schemes.

A two-thirds majority voted in favour of the ‘Love Hastings’ business plan proposals.

This means every business in the area will continue to invest in the future of the town - with most small independent traders paying less than £200 a year (some as little as £60), whilst larger national chains pay the lion’s share with contributions of between £2,000 and £15,000.

Andy Harvey, manager of Priory Meadow Shopping Centre and chair of the BID board of directors said: “The last few months have been really interesting and have shown us all just how much passion and enthusiasm there is for the town amongst the businesses who operate here.

“In an exceptionally tough financial climate some might expect every business owner to be looking for every possible way of saving money. But what this result shows is how many owners understand there is strength in collective action and the small investment of an average of just a few hundred pounds a year is worth it.”

BIDs are local revenue-raising schemes that businesses democratically choose to pay.

The amounts paid are typically linked to the size of the premises, and in Hastings these have been one point five per cent of the open market rental value for the last five years. However, this is now being dropped to one point two five per cent to reflect how the team running Love Hastings has been cut to just two full-time members of staff.

Their focus will be on spending the rest of the funds directly on such things as improved festive lights, CCTV, maintaining planting around the town, and support for events such as Pride, Pirate Day, Coastal Currents, Bonfire, Beatles Day, Fat Tuesday and the Hastings five-mile race.

The day-to-day work of the BID includes patrolling the town, partnership working with the council, the police, and other agencies, and, in particular, looking after the administration of the ShopWatch and BarWatch schemes.

John Bownas, manager of Love Hastings said: “One of our chief ambitions over the next few years is to try and reduce the sorts of anti-social and criminal behaviour in the town centre that we know can put off families and shoppers.

“There are a small number of incredibly problematic individuals who we want to try and help by allowing them to make changes to their lifestyle so that they have better life chances and stop being seen as one of Hastings’ biggest problems.”

Inspector Aidan Cornwall, of Hastings Police, added: “Hastings businesses in the town, represented by Love Hastings, have been a huge help over the past five years. Local communities have a significant part to play in crime prevention and detection, and the BID has made the partnership with Sussex Police one of its top priorities as a means of keeping the town safe.”

In the consultation leading up to the ballot, the BID team said it received significant interest from traders in St Leonards and the Old Town in joining the scheme.

Individual businesses outside the area can currently join voluntarily, but it is likely that in six to nine months a formal plan will be put together to allow both areas to have their own votes.

If successful this is projected to be able to allow them to raise around £20,000 each, which would be able to be spent locally on any projects that had community support and were likely to benefit businesses.

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