Where was the communication before the Yorkshire Coast BID was established - Yorkshire Post Letters

I was interested in David Behrens' article in The Yorkshire Post Saturday, June 15, entitled ‘The advisers who are really not that special’.

My interest was the part of the article on BIDs, Business Improvement District, in particularly The Yorkshire Coast BID and the fact that only 38 people out of 600 voted to keep it's services after five years of its existence

David refers to the wholly undemocratic block voting system used by the councils.

The councils involved were the previous Scarborough Council, and The East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and I would like to enlarge on how the voting was manipulated, to give the result that the Councils desired namely the establishment of the East Coast BID.

Firstly, all ‘retail’ businesses were to have a levy imposed on them of as I recall, 0.5 per cent of their rates. This covered all coastal businesses from Whitby to Spurn Point.

This was to be the subject of a vote and each organisation would have a vote per rateable business premises.

The two councils decided that they should have a vote for each rateable building they owned. In other words, each and every building owned by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and Scarborough, providing it was rated would be entitled to a vote.

Obviously this was going to give each council very many votes, and of course due to the benefit of this, the voting was in their favour and the East Coast BID was established.

It is interesting that only 28 per cent of businesses voted, in the initial vote to form the East Coast BID.

You may think it unusual that businesses were not interested in voting on a matter that was going to cost them money.

It seems that many were not aware, and my business was not. At this stage it is important to state, certainly in the case of my business, that all postal/communication receives the attention and is seen by senior management, usually the MD.

The first thing my company knew of this, was when a demand from The East Riding of Yorkshire Council for just under £1,000 was received relating to our Bridlington premises.

This raises the matter as to how businesses were informed. You would think on such an important and potentially costly matter, that any communication should be addressed for the attention of a senior member of the business, or someone responsible for decision making.

I did, through the Freedom of Information Act, make an enquiry with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council as to how the proposal was communicated to businesses, and I was referred by them to Scarborough Council, who they said, was responsible.

I never did find out their method of communication.

If any of the above is incorrect then I am happy for The East Riding of Yorkshire Council to respond.