Spalding business owner claims council levy "unlawful"

A Spalding business owners tells us he plans to "fight" a new levy, after five people appeared in court for not paying it.

The Business Improvement District, or BID, levy was passed by just one vote in July 2024.

Businesses in Spalding town centre now have to pay a monthly fee which goes towards things like free car parking and hanging baskets, which aim to bring more footfall to the town.

The amount paid by each business is dependant on its size.

Julian Wheeler, Owner of Welland Photo Services, has not paid the levy since he received the first bill in March.

He appeared at Boston Magistrates court on 30 June alongside five other local business owners.

"The council were supposed to send out a ballot statement outlining the full scope of the ballot and what it means to businesses," said Julian.

"However, they didn't do it. So we are now arguing that the whole ballot process was actually run illegally."

South Holland District Council tell us the Business Improvement District ballot and levy collection "was carried out alongside national guidelines to ensure a fair and transparent process" which they say was "clearly communicated throughout.”

Fifty seven businesses voted against the BID, and 58 for - with council owned businesses receiving 18 votes.

Julian claims some businesses are considering moving out of the area to avoid the levy.

"The street that I'm in, I think there's one business here who could hand on heart say an increase in footfall will actually benefit their business," said Julian.

"We're all destination businesses down and a lot of the independent traders are.

"People will travel to us. So we're bringing people into town anyway who necessarily wouldn't otherwise come in.

"So if we all move out of town, even by 200 metres, town is going to be emptied by our collective amount of customers."

South Holland District Council have highlighted that "all businesses who fund the BID have the opportunity to influence how the funds collected through the levy are spent."

A spokesperson reiterated, "The ballot was managed to the same high level as any other election, with verified data being provided to a recognised electoral services provider, and the council’s returning officer overseeing the process with the usual checks, proofing and sign-off taking place.

"The collection of the levy on behalf of the BID has been carried out in the same manner as it would be with council tax and all other council managed collection processes, and all recovery actions undertaken have been done in line with the relevant national regulations."