Property owner BID proposed for Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles

The largest land owners in part of Bloomsbury, Holborn and St Giles will be given the opportunity to vote on whether they want to pay towards the Central District Alliance business improvement district (CDA BID), in a ballot to be held in October.

Camden Council has approved a proposal for a property owner BID which would operate from 1 January 2027 to 31 March 2030 in the area immediately to the east of Fitzrovia.

BIDs work in a public-private partnership with local authorities under regulations from the Local Government Act 2003, and provide services to improve the business environment for its levy-paying members.

Each BID term (normally five years) would have to be renewed by a positive ballot of its members.

Under the proposals, property owners with commercial spaces (known as hereditaments) which have a rateable value (RV) of £180,000 or more would pay a levy of 0.85 per cent of the RV, collected every year by Camden Council on behalf of the CDA BID.

CDA estimates that its annual income from the property owners during the first term would be £1.5mn, which it says it would be put toward public realm improvements, cleanliness, security, advocacy on behalf of its members, and place management activities.

The proposal has been developed “following consultation and engagement with eligible property owners and prospective levy payers across the proposed BID area”, states a council report on the decision taken on 5 June.

A number of occupier BIDs already operate across the London Borough of Camden. However, the move by CDA would create the first property owner BID in the borough and would run alongside the existing CDA occupier BID.

“Property owner business improvement districts (PBIDs) are currently only permitted within London and may only operate where there is an existing occupier BID in place,” states the report for Sabrina Francis, cabinet member for jobs, young people and culture.

CDA currently operates occupier BIDs in two areas of the boroughs of Camden and Islington, which together pull in an annual income of around £3mn.

“Our proposed CDA PBID will initially cover the areas within the London Borough of Camden. Subject to the support of owners and the London Borough of Islington, Farringdon and Clerkenwell may join the PBID in spring 2030,” states the draft business plan.

To the immediate west in the City of Westminster, the New West End Company operates an occupier and property owner BID.

Nearly all of Fitzrovia is covered by two occupier BIDs operated by The Fitzrovia Partnership.

BIDs are controversial as they largely function without input from people living in the area they cover.

They employ street wardens which behave as a private police force, often sub-contracting uniformed personnel from private security firms to patrol the streets.

Public space is monetised by holding commercial activities such as trading and promotions, treating the city as a private business — accountable to property developers, real estate owners, large retailers, rather than citizens.

BIDs are non-profit companies limited by guarantee and can apply for grants and even secure funding from community infrastructure levy and s106 agreements — money which is supposed to be allocated for community benefit and to make commercial developments acceptable and mitigate their negative effects.

While local authorities often have a councillor sitting on the board of the BID as an observer, the organisations are largely unaccountable to the public and allowed to get on with the job of making money for their members.

Camden Council, decision: Proposal for the Creation of a Property Owner Business Improvement District; Central District Alliance Property Owner BID proposal.

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