It’s a YES! Newcastle-under-Lyme BID businesses celebrate positive BID result
Businesses across Newcastle-under-Lyme have voted in favour of renewing their Business Improvement District (BID) status, securing over £1.4 million in funding to be invested over the next five years. This funding will support ongoing efforts to enhance the trading environment and advocate for local business interests.
The positive outcome follows several months of preparation, including detailed interviews, surveys, and a month-long ballot in which businesses in the town were invited to vote on the renewal proposals.
For the BID to be successfully renewed, it requires more than 50% of voting businesses to cast a ‘Yes’ vote, and those businesses need to represent over 50% of the total rateable value of all votes cast. Both of these criteria were met.
Voting closed on 13th November and 66% of votes cast voted in favour of the BID Renewal Ballot by total number of businesses, and 82% of votes cast voted in favour of the BID by Rateable Value.
The BID has played a key role in making Newcastle-under-Lyme a more attractive town. Initiatives have included Monthly Town Tidy sessions, Pop Up Park and seasonal planters, as well as the funding and installation of a Christmas tree and festive lighting. It has also created a more welcoming environment though safer town initiatives, staged and supported numerous events that have positively driven visitor footfall, and facilitated business growth, consistently supporting the needs of the businesses within the BID area.
As a result of the yes vote, the renewal of Newcastle-under-Lyme BID will commence on the 1st April 2026 and businesses with a rateable value of £12,001 or above will pay a levy based upon their rateable value, creating a collective fund of more than £1.4 million to spend over the next five years.
The plans were spearheaded and driven by the Board of business representatives from across the town, supported by Partnerships for Better Business Ltd (pfbb UK), who develop and deliver Business Improvement Districts across the country.
Commenting on the successful BID renewal, Co-Chairs of the Board Jane Tunnicliff and Nigel Davies said:
“This is fantastic news for Newcastle-under-Lyme. A huge congratulations to all the businesses that came together and rallied in support of the renewal ballot. Their collective effort has secured a ‘Yes’ vote, ensuring continued investment in our area. We’d also like to thank everyone who engaged in the process—sharing ideas, offering feedback, and ultimately voting in favour of a plan that supports collaboration and resilience during these challenging and uncertain times.”
“The BID’s business plan, which businesses were being asked to vote on, has been designed to address the issues which came up during the lengthy consultations with many of the businesses in the BID area, from the small independent businesses to large national businesses.”
“The money will now be spent through the three key strategic objectives and their related activities.”
The project team are now looking forward to delivering more great initiatives and projects over the next five years and building on the work to date.
For more information and to view the new BID business plan, please visit (www.newcastleunderlyme.org)
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