Business improvement districts

Screen

Stages

Go back to Business improvement districts summary

These are the questions we answer during the Screen stage.

Answering them wil help us learn more about the Business improvement districts consideration, determine if a data standard is required and whether we know enough to move on to the next stage.

  • What is the 'Business improvement districts' consideration?

    A Business Improvement District is a defined area in which a levy is charged on all eligible business rate payers in addition to the business rates bill. This levy is used to develop projects which will benefit businesses in the local area.

    There is no limit on what projects or services can be provided through a Business Improvement District. The only requirement is that it should be something that is in addition to services provided by local authorities. Improvements may include, but are not limited to, extra safety/security, cleansing and environmental measures.

    Typically, a Business Improvement District is within a local authority boundary but in April 2013 government introduced Cross Boundary Business Improvement Districts enabling Business Improvement Districts to operate across local authority boundaries.

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Business improvement districts'?

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Business improvement districts'?

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

    • Local authorities

  • Is the Business improvement districts a trigger?

  • Is the Business improvement districts something to consult during plan making?

  • Is there any Business improvement districts data already available?

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    No

  • Will a data standard be required?

    Yes