Plaid Cymru backing for Newtown's BID Project

Plaid Cymru today backed Business Improvement Development (BID) projects for both Newtown and Brecon.

Newtown based Revived & Thrive won BID projects for the two towns last week and Councillor Elwyn Vaughan (pictured), Plaid Cymru Leader on Powys County Council, today described the projects as “positive steps towards the wider economic regeneration of the area.

“Nationally and internationally, BIDs have a long and growing track record of successful project delivery, from enhancing festive lighting in small towns to multi-million pound infrastructure projects.

“Any new business improvement districts in Mid-Wales should expect to see similar project successes commensurate with the scale and budgets that the towns’ BIDs can generate, and appropriate to the needs of the business communities that they serve,” he added.

“The primary benefits that these types of projects will bring to towns are in strengthening the economies of such towns. BIDs encourage greater affinity between residents/consumers and the towns that they live in, thereby retaining more wealth within the local economy, rather than losing it to larger conurbations or to online retail.

“This has both a direct and indirect impact on the wider economies of the region, including agricultural and rural economies.

“Furthermore, BIDs empower local business communities and it is here that we see the greatest strength of BIDs, that being the role that they play in bringing businesses together to achieve things.

“BIDs are innovative kick-starters of larger projects. Whether it is funding research to measure the impacts of car parking charges or seed funding pop-up shops or markets (creating new jobs) or co-ordinating larger funding bids for infrastructure improvements, enhanced broadband networks and inward investment, etc.

“BIDs in Mid-Wales will and should expect to be catalysts for business-led change contributing to a Can DO culture rather than a Can’t Do – a positive outlook for the future.”