A business improvement survey is doing the rounds in Andover town centre.
Local businesses will be visited by a representative of the proposed Business Improvement District (BID) steering group and will be asked to answer questions about Andover’s high street area.
The survey which will only take five minutes to answer is seeking responses from a minimum of 166 local businesses.
The survey to garner information from local companies ahead of a planned vote to create a BID area in and around Andover town centre has been positive so far: BID chair Lisa Armstrong says, “The survey team have so far been told that Andover is a lovely place to work and live.
“Early indications show that there is broad mix of types of things businesses want to see get improved.
“It’s not all about better parking, less empty shops or enhanced evening economy, it’s a really broad range of ideas.”
A BID is a business-owned, led and funded company set up by following a ballot. It is anticipated that businesses will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for the BID plans in October this year.
The BID will then be funded by a ‘special levy’ on local businesses, based on the current rateable value of their property. Forecasts suggest this could raise more than £200,000 a year. The BID company would then use this money to make local improvements – in addition to services already provided by the local councils.
The survey team are collecting information until the end of next week (Friday 2nd March) with an interim report to be presented at the Andover BID steering group in March ad a final report presented in April.
