WORCESTER businesses are about to have their say on the future of the city centre's management company.

Eligible businesses have received a copy of Worcester BID’s business plan, which outlines the planned work for the next five years, ahead of a 28 day postal ballot which starts on October 31.

A total of 644 shops, offices and leisure businesses will be eligible to vote to see if they are willing to support the proposals which they themselves fund through a levy based on their rateable value. Worcester BID will continue if more than 50 per cent of businesses voting agree to the proposals by number and by aggregate rateable value. The announcement will be made on November 28, one day after the ballot period closes. The ballot is being conducted independently by Electoral Reform Services.

Head of Worcester BID, Adrian Field said: "We have a business plan that outlines the projects businesses themselves wanted to see to help them, so it is very much demand led and this is how a BID should be. We want to build on the projects that we have delivered for the last five years and introduce new ones for the next five, such as more done to combat the gull population, introducing hanging baskets, more free training and networking opportunities, schemes to reduce overheads and improvements to trade waste recycling."

Stuart Bailey, director at BID business Thomas Guise Solicitors in Foregate Street and vice chairman of Worcester BID added: "We want to ensure that businesses have their say in the ballot and would urge them to look at the business plan and our track record in delivering high quality projects such as the Foodie Festival, the recent Uniquely Yours book, open4business marketing campaign during the floods and customer service assessments, for example. Businesses need to have an informed view of the proposals and how they will help their business if they sign up to them and the business plan delivers this.

"If the BID ballot is not successful then events, marketing campaigns such as for Christmas, RingGo pay for parking by phone, funding for CityNet and Nightsafe anti crime groups and deals to reduce overheads would simply go and that would be a disaster for the city.."

Worcester BID has recently led on the submission which shortlisted the city’s High Street for the Future High Street Forum’s High Street of the Year competition and has won national awards for the open4business post flooding campaign and for its loyalty card for employees.