Those towns already at an economic disadvantage should be identified. They should qualify for either a rate rebate or local retention of a proportion of the rates in order to help fund the Business Improvement District. Other towns may be able to afford the additional levy. Careful consideration and wide consultation is needed to find a workable mechanism to fund BIDs in market towns. This is another area in which market towns are different from larger towns.
Small towns have a much larger proportion of small independent businesses.
They do not have the large multiples who have resources to fund and support BIDs and other initiatives such as town centre management. The business profile of the High Street is a critical factor in determining the ability of the town to provide private sector finance for regeneration. Action for Market Towns very much hopes that the important role market towns have to play as service centres for their wider rural areas is acknowledged and recognised in the forthcoming Rural White Paper. More importantly Action for Market Towns hopes that recognition will result in direct support to market towns in the ways outlined above.