Diary of a Shopkeeper, 5th February
There are three weeks to go till voting closes to decide whether Kirkwall BID will continue for another five years. Votes from member businesses are pouring in to the council offices in School Place. Along with the rest of the volunteer board of BID, I will learn the result after the count on March 3rd.
The volume of votes cast is just as important as the result of the simple yes/no question. More than 25% of eligible businesses – by number and by rateable value – have to vote for the count to be valid. More than half – again, by number and by rateable value – have to vote yes before BID will continue. That may seem like a low bar, but studies of BIDs around the world reveal that success can’t be taken for granted – despite the goodwill amongst the Kirkwall public and most businesses.
There are currently 37 operational BIDs in Scotland, a number which has grown steadily in recent years, as towns look for ways to protect and develop their business and community life. A BID is not a substitute for central or local government, but an additional resource guided directly by businesses. The law states that BIDs are managed and paid for by the private sector through a levy, which the businesses must vote for before a BID can be established. And they must be given the opportunity to review their BID’s existence every five years – which is what is happening now.
Customers who I discuss BID with are astonished when I say it may not continue. They reel off a string of positive things BID has initiated: the canopies of winter lights, the popular shopping days, the Kirkwall Gift Card, family attractions like the skating rink and The Grump. Surely all of those are good arguments for the continued existence of BID, they say.
I think so. But academic studies show that BIDs go through a typical series of phases. When they start, they’re controversial and people argue for and against them – but awareness and involvement is high. After they’ve been going for five years, people start to take the BID for granted. They appreciate the large positives and have learned to live with the small negatives. Active involvement – for or against – tails off. After 10 years, which is where Kirkwall BID is now, the good things the organisation does tend to be so well established that people forget who is responsible for them. This is the danger time for any BID facing a reballot, as it could be that its members won’t bother to vote.
A customer in the shop asked me the other day, what would happen if there was a no vote.
‘The first thing would be to arrange for the winter lights to be taken down,’ I said.
‘What! Can’t they just be left up?’
‘They cost thousands of pounds a year to maintain and repair,’ I said. ‘Who’s going to pay for that if not BID?’
‘But the events would still go on, wouldn’t they? There’d be a Halloween Parade, and a Festive Day Out? Surely?’
‘No.’
If you’re a business in the BID area and haven’t voted yet, please track down the voting pack you were sent a couple of weeks ago. If you can’t find it, contact BID to arrange a replacement. Have a read of what BID has achieved so far, and what it plans for the next five years, then tick whichever box you think will most support your business and the town.
If you aren’t a business, but a member of the public who has enjoyed BID’s events or other initiatives since 2013, please mention it next time you’re in a shop or café or pub or office in the town centre. I wish the pubic could vote in this reballot as well as businesses: I’m sure that would result in an overwhelming vote for yes!
You can read more about Kirkwall BID and its activities on its website here. BID is also very active on Facebook and Instagram, both with its own posts and sharing posts of its members.
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 8th February 2023. A new one appears weekly. I post them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.