29/11/12….The future for Thame’s business discussed

COULD the economy of Thame benefit from a Business Improvement District (BID)? This was the question posed at a lunch time meeting today of over 40 businesses from the Thame area, who were the guests of the Thame4Business group.

A Business Improvement District is basically a partnership between a local authority and the local business community aimed at developing projects and services that will benefit the trading environment within the boundary of a clearly defined commercial area.”

Money to be ring-fenced for defined projects in the BID is raised through a small levy on the Business Rates of the businesses within the BID.

Guest Speaker, Matthew McMillan, who has wide experience guiding other towns towards gaining BID status, explained the benefits and the nuts and bolts of the process and answered questions from the floor.

Thame4Business is the Economic Working Group of 21st Century Thame, the town partnership and is aiming to have a video of Matthew?s talk up on YouTube shortly.

The next stage will be to carry out a feasibility study to demonstrate an identified need for a BID in Thame, and then to measure levels of interest and commitment among a wide range of local businesses.