Ballots - Renewal with a Capital R

When your BID seeks Renewal it will almost certainly do so with a capital R while eschewing a renewal ballot and instead seeking a new term through a regulatorily distinct BID ballot instead. What does this mean and how does it impact the future of BIDs in the UK? 

Set up in 2004, the four ballot types that are stipulated in the BID Regulations are listed as follows: BID ballot, renewal ballot, alteration ballot & re-ballot (which would necessarily comprise a BID ballot, renewal ballot or alteration ballot). For years the BID industry has operated under the assumption that very little differences exist between these four types and they largely mean the same thing to the same people. 

However, as the BID model has matured and evolved over the last 20 years, and BIDs themselves have matured and started to seek second, third and fourth terms, issues have started to appear in the vocabulary that we use. There are 340 active and operational BIDs in the UK and of these 284 are in at least their second term. This means that 284 BIDs have, to use the common phraseology, “gone to Renewal”. Have they though?

Of the 94 ballots that were undertaken in 2023, 80 of them were undertaken by existing BIDs seeking a further term, upwards of 50 held, according to their ballot collateral, including business plans, websites, newsletters, declaration documents and legally binding BID Proposals went to ballot to “Renewal”.

What is a renewal though? A renewal according to the BID regulations should only take place when a BID is looking to continue the exact same BID arrangements (same levy rate, same BID area, same threshold, same businesses paying the same levy). Hardly ever if at all does a BID truly seek to do this as BIDs use the ballot and new term as a timely opportunity to change levy rates, areas and generally implement lessons learned from their previous BID term and increase efficiency.  

Twice in the last twelve months BIDs have been challenged post-ballot based on the ballot documentation stating that the ballot being held was a “renewal” when in fact several changes had been made to the BID in terms of levy rate, boundary and threshold makes the ballots, legally, BID ballots, crucially not renewals.

Each time the Secretary of State has overruled the challenge, and the BIDs have continued to a new term, chastened but keen to continue their work. Each time this has happened it has cost the BID in terms of time (a challenge can delay levy bills going out for up to 6 months into a BIDs first year of its next term) and money.

In May of 2024 CES, the often used third party suppliers of many a Ballot, introduced the term “New Term Ballot” to their pre project information gathering. Surely the time has come as more and more BIDs seek further terms to continue their work for the industry to standardise our terminology to make sure that when we next “go to Renewal” we get exactly what we are looking for.