The BID

A BID is a Business Improvement District.

BIDs are part of the Government’s long-term strategy to encourage partnership working between a local authority and the business community. A BID is a defined area within which rate-paying businesses decide on new improvements to help transform their area – and then vote to agree the investment.

This money is then ring-fenced to provide the improvements agreed through the BID Proposal and Business Plan. BIDs see improvements to business profitability and turnover which would not have happened otherwise.
Essentially a BID is designed to be for the businesses, controlled by the businesses.

A new private limited company, which is limited by guarantee and has its own management board, is responsible for administering the BID. This is a not-for-profit company; board members are made up of volunteer individuals who represent the cross section of businesses and organisations across the area.

Stourbridge BID Ltd has appointed Partnerships for Better Business Ltd to be its Managing Agent, and they have appointed a BID Manager, dedicated to Stourbridge BID to implement the projects identified in the plan.

Stourbridge should be a place to be celebrated in which the local population takes pride and which is recognised regionally and nationally as a town with a great sense of its own identity and a great place to do business. Councils are no longer in the situation of being able to deliver and ‘do’ everything they used to do. This provides a clear opportunity for all key stakeholders to be involved and to play a part in shaping the future of economic growth of their town and businesses, organisations and public bodies in partnership. A BID provides an ideal mechanism for businesses to have a structured approach to these relationships and the BID plan has taken account of other over-arching strategies and plans, to enable the businesses to achieve their own objectives as well as providing an important means of other stakeholders to work with them.

There are some great opportunities in Stourbridge and a very strong business community which, working together, will help drive Stourbridge forward as a vibrant and attractive place to live, work and play.

The BID will deliver the changes and improvements that businesses in the area identified and are as outlined in the BID Proposal and Business Plan; all of which will help to drive customer visits and encourage longer stays.

It is important to remember that the BID will not replace the existing services provided by the local authority. This will be monitored by the BID company to ensure that the money generated through the BID is only used for the improvements voted for by the businesses in the BID area.

Businesses from across Stourbridge town centre came together to create a representative body of people to develop this project. Called ‘Stourbridge BID Steering Group’, it represented businesses from all business sectors, sizes and types and it appointed BID specialists, Partnerships for Better Business Ltd (pfbb UK), to support the businesses in developing a BID for the town centre. It is essential that the businesses in the area determine the activities and objectives of the BID Business Plan. The first stage of this work, a Feasibility Stage, was completed in May 2023 and made recommendations that businesses were interested enough in the concept of the BID to move to the Development Stage.

A series of business interviews, workshops, surveys and other research were carried out to determine what improvements businesses in Stourbridge would like to make. Using all the input from the businesses across the area, pfbb UK supported the Stourbridge BID steering Group in developing a BID Proposal and Business Plan to take them and the Local Authority through the legal requirements to create the framework for the BID.

The development of the BID was being funded by Government funding secured by Dudley Borough Council. Since the BID commenced in April 2025, it is now funded by occupiers /Liable account holders of business rated properties in the BID area.All businesses and organisations in business rated properties in the BID area which meet the levy criteria are subject to a levy. This overcomes the problem of a few businesses paying for improvements that benefit many. It is also hoped that the BID will serve as a catalyst for change and bring in more investment to the area. Business in the BID area and surrounding areas who are not eligible to pay a levy also have an opportunity to pay a voluntary levy.

Declaration of a ballot on 1 November 2024 showed a majority vote in favour of the BID from businesses both in  terms of number of those who voted and aggregate rateable value. The BID commenced operations on 1 April 2025 and will run for 5 years until 31 March 2031 . In the fifth year, the businesses will vote again on whether they want the BID to continue and what they want to improve over the next five years.

A levy is charged to occupiers of business rated properties. This levy is based on the rateable value of your premises. A 2.5% levy in the first year (which will increase with CPI each subsequent year) will be charged to all eligible businesses.

Contact us to register your details to receive e-bulletins and updates about the BID’s progress and activities.

Please contact the BID team on Tel: 01562 540233 or email: info@StourbridgeBID.com

You and the other businesses will identify the issues that will be tackled by the BID in the area.
You can also be certain that the BID will:

• Deliver a pragmatic and business driven agenda
• Be business led
• Benefit from effective partnership with the public sector and other key stakeholders
• Deliver sustained investment to improve the area over a five-year period
• Focus on achieving positive and measurable outcomes of benefit to all businesses