PLANS are afoot for a £1.2million scheme to help Salisbury businesses. The idea is to establish a Business Improvement District, known as a BID, in the city centre from next year.

The money could be used in a variety of ways to promote local businesses and to improve the environment for them and their customers.

Individual businesses will now be consulted about what they want, before a detailed action plan is drawn up. They will then vote on whether to go ahead with it.

The scheme has been proposed by Salisbury City Centre Management. There are more than 100 BIDs operating nationwide, and rival shopping centres Winchester, Swindon and Reading all have them.

Winchester’s is costing £2million over five years, funded by a ring-fenced levy on business rates of 1.5 per cent initially, rising to 1.69 per cent in the fifth year.

This is used for measures such as removing chewing gum from pavements, contributing to floral and Christmas displays, and funding extra police community support officers to deter shoplifters and pickpockets and to tackle problems such as littering and begging.

It also pays for marketing campaigns, better security radio links, and a programme of early evening activities to encourage a café culture and a more civilised atmosphere, along with improved late-night public transport.

The development stage of Salisbury’s BID would cost an estimated £90,000, and both Wiltshire Council and Salisbury City Council have been asked to help.

City Centre Management chairman Ian Newman said: “This is a very small investment considering the potential income that the BID would generate – a minimum of £1.2million over five years.

“The creation of a Salisbury BID is included in the south Wiltshire economic strategy which has been endorsed by Wiltshire Council. We are therefore very hopeful that they will find the funding to take this project forward.

“The beauty about a BID is that it is the businesses themselves that agree what needs to be done, they raise the money and they manage the work.”

City Centre Management is a partnership that brings together the public and private sector to promote a vibrant trading environment. It says Salisbury is facing increased competition from areas where recent or imminent investment is providing a wider choice of shopping and leisure opportunities and more attractive public spaces.