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Vote YES to keep Newport's BID


Starting this week, businesses in Newport city centre will get to decide whether Newport Now BID continues for a third 5-year term.


Ballot papers will be delivered this week - and BID levy payers will have from October 31 until November 28 to vote YES or NO to the BID continuing its operations until at least 2030.


Newport Now is one of 340 BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) across the UK.

BIDs are set up when businesses in the area they will serve vote to create them via a ballot.


BIDs are primarily funded by a small statutory levy paid by eligible businesses in the area they serve - in Newport these are businesses with a rateable value of £5,000 or more a year.


Each BID delivers a 5-year Business Plan before a new ballot is held to determine whether they should continue for a further 5 years.


Newport Now's second 5-year term ends on March 31 next year. Our ballot for a third term opens this Thursday and runs for a month.


Our new 2025-30 Business Plan - created following via a survey of more than 500 businesses in the city centre - was launched earlier this month and has been posted to all levy payers.


The Business Plan can be downloaded here.


Businesses have a simple choice - vote YES to see at least £1.1 million invested in the city centre on top of more than £3 million invested since the BID began operations in 2015.


Or vote NO to see all BID projects and services end next March, with no further investment in the city centre.


A YES vote will see the retention and improvement of services and projects including:


  • Events such as the Countdown to Christmas lights switch-on, Urban Beach, Small Business Saturday and Christmas markets.

  • Funding for other major events such as the Food Festival, Pride in the Port and the Big Splash.

  • Street Ambassadors - on duty 5 days a week, assisting businesses and providing help for visitors and shoppers.

  • Night Ambassadors - on duty every Friday and Saturday night, helping keep the night time experience safe and enjoyable.

  • Shopfront Improvement Grant - helping businesses with new signage, painting, lighting and other exterior improvements.

  • Savings Advisory Service - saving businesses money on their energy, telecoms and merchant fees. More than £100,000 of savings have been identified to date.

  • Newport Now gift cards - these can only be spent with participating businesses in the BID area. Keeping the Newport pound in Newport.

  • Newport Now app - packed with offers and deals, events and trails. Free for BID members to promote their businesses.

  • Newport Business Against Crime Partnership - this service is primarily funded by the BID and provides businesses with free access to information-sharing software and the opportunity to join the CityNet radio system.

  • A voice for the businesses of the city centre - ensuring local and central governments are lobbied on your behalf.


A NO vote will mean the BID ceases to operate on March 31, 2030, and all of the above will be lost.


If the BID ballot is not successful, there is no replacement body that will deliver the objectives, projects and services outlined in the BID's 2025-30 Business Plan.


That is why it is so important to vote YES.


So what happens now?


The postal ballot opens on October 31 and runs until November 28. The result will be declared on November 29.


If you are are BID levy payer, you should receive your ballot paper by post this week.


If you have not received it by Monday, November 4, please contact BID manager Kevin Ward on kevin@kevinwardmedia.com or call 07824 472543.


You should have already received our 2025-30 Business Plan via the post.


If you haven't received one, please contact Kevin and he will get a copy to you.


Alternatively, you can download the Business Plan here.


If you have any problems with posting your ballot, please contact Kevin and we will arrange for our Street Ambassadors to collect your sealed vote and deliver it to the returning officer at Newport City Council.


If you are planning to vote YES, then please encourage other businesses to do the same.


Thank you for your support.


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