The issue of renewing the Business Improvement District (BID) in Nairn has divided the Highland town.
Some say the BID, which was introduced in 2018, provides a vital service organising the Christmas light switch-on, installing hanging baskets and even offering a seagull control problem.
But for others, the additional charge on business rate payers is a waste of money at a time when every penny counts.
A recent vote to renew the BID for another five years went down to the wire – with 92 in favour and 89 again.
However, it has now emerged that Highland Council had 19 votes on the issue which has split the town’s business community.
Highland Council influence on BID success
Despite being asked specifically by the Press and Journal, Highland Council did not confirm how it used its votes.
David Ross, who owns a business on High Street and has been a vocal campaigner against the BID, has no doubt the local authority voted in favour.
If this is the case, then the majority of businesses outwith the local authority voted against the BID.
Mr Ross believes “charging ahead” with the BID will have financial implications for small businesses.
Many smaller businesses voted against the initiative. The rateable value of the 92 businesses which voted in favour was £2.5 million as opposed to the 89 against worth £750,000.
Highland Council confirmed it was entitled to 19 votes for its rate-paying properties.
A spokesperson said: “For the Nairn BID, Highland Council is subject to non-domestic rates for 19 properties with a total rateable value of £138,100 and is entitled to the corresponding number of votes.
“The BID manager has access to interim reports of who has voted or who still has to return a vote but not how they voted.”
Nairn events poorer under BID, claims businessman
Mr Ross, who ran Ross Outdoors for 12 years, doesn’t believe the BID offers any extras to Nairn and has said town events were “bigger and better” before its introduction.
His property has a rateable value of around £6,750 and he said he has to pay a levy of £325 a year.
He added: “The BID hasn’t improved anything. Prior to it, we had better street markets with more footfall.
“The Christmas lights were done just as well. If it had added any positives I would cut them some slack – but it hasn’t.
“Nairn BID isn’t fit for the purposes of its businesses. Simply put it’s not value for money. It has also divided Nairn businesses which isn’t healthy for the area.”
He added: “If it didn’t exist we have enough voluntary groups which could do what’s being done by the BID.
“There’s two community councils as well as a rotary club and so many more voluntary groups.
“All it gives is a chance for the council to hide behind it and nothing is actually getting done.”
Nairn’s local focus key for growth says cafe owner
However, Nicola Mackinlay, who co-owns Makes By Megs MNM’s cafe said: “The BID increases footfall in the town with the events it hosts.
“The Nairn BID is something that solely concentrates on our town where committees have fallen short before. The focus on Nairn businesses is a real benefit.”
Ms Mackinlay was part of the Christmas lights committee prior to the organisation’s involvement and believes “people won’t commit the time to volunteering”.
She added: “I was on the committee for three years before the BID got involved. In the end they had to take over – there were only two of us left.
“It’s a lot of time and money and people are not prepared to commit their free time to it.
“There’s this unrealistic expectation that volunteers can do everything. In the five years prior to Nairn BID’s creation, events were becoming worse and worse.”
The levy is not seen as an issue for the cafe either who said quarterly markets more than make up for it.
Ms Mackinlay continued: “The cafe’s turnover is also higher on street market days as more people are about.
“If the markets didn’t exist we wouldn’t have any extra income coming in. Now there’s four a year, which easily covers the comparatively small levy.”
Nairn Bid defends ‘really valuable’ programme
Nairn BID manager Lucy Harding said: “We want to make the town a better place to live as well as do business.
“The levy is a fair way of charging people for the nice things that we like to have happen in Nairn.
“Smaller businesses pay less than a pound per day for services we provide.
“We also run Taste of Nairn, Wheels of Nairn and other events. If we didn’t then these valuable opportunities to increase footfall would not exist.”
Ms Harding also confirmed voluntary groups in Nairn have been supportive of the BID.
She added: “The volunteer group which used to do the Christmas lights turn on asked us to take over as they were down to just two committee members and had no funds.”
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