London BIDs should be better integrated into regeneration plans, says London Assembly

The report advised that the future London mayor should take a different approach and use some of the GLA's funding to support existing BIDs where there is demand as well as funding the creation of new ones.

"The best advert for a new BID is a successful existing BID," it said.

The report also recommended that established BIDS should coach, support and mentor emerging BIDs. They should also "strengthen links between London's BIDs and the local enterprise partnerships"

The report said that a concern for many is accountability and governance. "BIDs must work for the businesses that pay for them, who want to see their levies fund activities that support economic growth," and they should be "instigated by the business community, and not councils or the mayor".

"The mayor may wish to consider a 'London Standard' as a best practice guide for the capital’s BIDs to promote good governance and financial transparency. This could provide a framework to build higher levels of trust among the business community."

Under the current mayor BIDs have had a great influence on high streets in the capital, the report said. Although there is no evidence of BIDs creating jobs or helping to develop skills, they can respond quickly to local business needs and contribute to improving town centres, it said.

A BID's roles are agreed locally and can vary for each area but "they are focused on supporting business processes and enhance the local trading environment to encourage visitor footfall... They provide a forum to combine businesses’ interests to collectively improve the local area," it said.

The report said that BIDs also support local regeneration and increase and improve local security, efficiency, capacity and growth of local businesses. The report discusses said that BIDs should be an addition to the local authorities' management of town centres and not a replacement for it.

"BIDs are involved in cleaning and greening, developing place branding, lobbying on behalf of the business community, upskilling local communities, promoting tourism and culture, improving way-finding and public realm infrastructure," it said.

However, BIDs are not "universally popular" and some local authorities do not have one. "For example, the London Borough of Hackney does not see a case for introducing BIDs in the borough."

Planning expert Susanne Andreasen of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said:

"BIDs can work as an effective way to facilitate improvements locally and, with continuing local authority cuts, they may provide a good method of alternative funding. However, as reflected in the London Assembly report, any measures to further promote BIDs would need to address concerns about accountability."

"Whilst a clear advantage of a well functioning BID is that businesses can see the levy translate into direct benefits in the locality, other BIDs may experience a lack of transparency as to how their input is spent. As a result, some authorities will be cautious about introducing BIDs and will feel services are best delivered and controlled at a borough-wide level," Andreasen said.