A testimonial from Hayley Newton, Bits & PCs, Trinity Street, St Austell

Value of my BID levy

As a voluntary levy payer, I had to decide if the levy of £120 (I am not VAT registered so cannot claim back the £20 VAT) was value for money for my business.

I have decided it is actually very good value for money.

For just £120 I get:

  • A beautiful hanging basket outside my shop throughout the summer. This is organised, paid for, hung and maintained by BID. I don’t even have to water it.
  • I also get a town centre that has lovely Christmas lights and a huge entertainment programme for the festive period.
  • St Austell is promoted daily on Pirate FM – something I definitely could never afford to do for my business!
  • My business is listed on the St Austell app – which also links directly to my website.
  • I accept the St Austell Loyalty Card – with more than 2,000 card holders this is more advertising for the town and my business.
  • An A5 booklet about St Austell is distributed across homes, holiday parks, B&B’s, takeaways etc, to encourage people to visit the town.
  • We get private security guards patrolling the town centre at peak times; this is as well as the PCSO’s.
  • We also have extra street cleaning – with council cuts these have been reduced to the bare minimum.
  • We now have Storenet radios and I get a subsidised radio (50% off) so I can report any crimes, get help if I need it and also hear of any potential shoplifters in the other shops.

Many of these are worth the levy fee on their own. All would stop if we did not have the BID.