Kingstonfirst

Kingston town centre is set to retain its Business Improvement District (BID) status after a positive result in the recent ballot.

The ground-breaking Kingstonfirst BID was the first Business Improvement District to be established in the UK, and has helped to generate over 2 million additional customers a year for Kingston.

Graham McNally, Town Centre Manager said, “The YES vote shows that Kingston’s businesses recognise the hard work our team and board have put in over the last 5 years, and the sterling results they’ve achieved bringing growth to the town centre”.

Tony Wheeler, Managing Director John Lewis Kingston and Chair of Kingston Town Centre Management (KTCM) said “We are delighted that the hard fought BID2 campaign has received a positive vote. Having been involved in the inception of the BID, I'm excited to be a part of the team as it heads into its second phase. BID2 will enable Kingstonfirst to continue their great work in achieving economic growth for Kingston."

The YES vote secures funding for Kingstonfirst for the next five years through a 1% BID levy based on the rateable value of commercial properties. These funds, over £4 million of ring-fenced private sector funding, will be used for business-led projects in Kingston town centre.

Kingstonfirst aims to make Kingston a better place for people to visit, invest, work and live, through the delivery of services in four main areas- Cleaner Streets, Safer Streets, Better Transport and More Customers.

For the second BID term, a number of new areas of focus are under negotiation with the local authority:

• Making the historic heart of Kingston a memorable place to visit and revisit

• Promoting, managing and developing a broad range of markets and activities in the open areas of Kingston town centre

• Promoting, managing and developing the use of Kingston town centre riverside

Full results are as follows:

Total number of votes cast: 374

Total rateable value of votes cast: £40,713,475

% by number in favour of continuing the BID: 70.3%

% by rateable value (of those voting) in favour of continuing the BID: 73.9%

Turnout: 41.9% by number, 52.1% by rateable value