BREAKING: Businesses vote 'no' to second term of BID

As reported, the deadline for ballot papers for the 975 businesses from Donna Nook in the north to Friskney in the south to return their ballot papers was today (Wednesday).

The declaration was announced by John Medler, Monitoring Officer (on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer at East Lindsey Council) at 4pm today who acted as the Returning Officer on behalf of Civica UK.Just 362 businesses voted with 116 in favour of paying the levy for the BID to continue marketing the coast for the next five years.

The BID will cease to operate tomorrow (September 1) – and chairman Sid Dennis has expressed concerns about who will now be the voice of the coast.

Speaking on behalf of the Visit Lincs Coast BID Company, he thanked the Board and said: ‘Lincolnshire Coastal BID brought a vast number of benefits and services to the Lincolnshire Coast to support the economy and ultimately raise the profile of this area.“The work achieved by this BID has been commendable; comprehensive marketing strategies and campaigns reaching millions of people worldwide, the countless successful events supported through the funding application and event mgmt. processes as well the BIDs very own flagship events; the Business Support mechanisms such as the free Learning and Development courses available through the Skills Portal located on the ‘Visit Lincs Coast’ website and Environmental Projects to help maintain the coast as green, clean, and attractive.“Without Visit Lincs Coast BID we are very concerned about who will now be the voice for the coast. While our competitors, through their own BIDs will be able to continue to invest heavily in marketing, events, and infrastructure to help them in what is going to be a very difficult 12 -18 months.“This will no longer be the case for our area with the risks that will bring. Over 10 million people saw our TV advert this year. What will replace it in 2023?”“It is truly disappointing that businesses across the Lincolnshire coast could not realise the benefits the BID brought to the area.”