Bailiffs have visited a number of businesses in Carmarthen demanding payment for being part of a controversial scheme which many say they didn’t want to sign up to in the first place. Some people reacted with anger and frustration on Wednesday as collectors turned up unannounced to say that businesses owed money, in many cases running into hundreds of pounds.
The controversy surrounds a scheme called Carmarthen BID (Business Improvement District), which was first mooted in the town five years ago. It was eventually set up in 2020 after more than 130 businesses took part in a vote, with 65% of those balloted voting in favour of setting up a body which is self-funded and designed to improve a commercial area - in this case Carmarthen town centre. Read more about it and how it is meant to work, including the financial details, here.
However, the controversy stems from the fact that businesses who voted against the scheme, or indeed did not vote at all, are still being forced to pay a percentage of their rateable value every year for being members of the BID - on top of business rates. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
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Further displeasure with the scheme is borne out of the fact that it started at a time when Covid-19 halted many businesses’ opportunity to trade at all for many months, and to trade to their full potential for many more. Furthermore, claims have been made about the voting process itself, including some business owners not receiving a ballot and others citing a lack of clarity.
Legal action has been started by a local solicitor on behalf of dozens of Carmarthen businesses who want the BID scheme to be scrapped, a process which is still ongoing. You can read more about that here. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the BID’s future, bailiffs have visited businesses this week, something which alarmed many, but Carmarthenshire Council has stressed that the visits were a "final attempt to obtain payment of arrears" after repeated correspondence failed to result in charges being paid.
One of the businesses visited was a Barnardo's charity store in the centre of town. Volunteers at the shop did not wish to comment and Barnardo's has been asked for their response to the situation and whether any unpaid bills relating to Carmarthen BID have been paid or will be paid.
One business owner left "disgusted" by the situation is Nia Maynard, who owns One of a Find in the town's Blue Street, near the Barnardo's charity shop. She said: "While it’s still going through the courts it (fees) should be frozen for all businesses, and when you’re having bailiffs turning up at charity shops demanding money - it stinks,” said Nia. "There’s no information available about the BID. The first bill came out during lockdown when a lot of businesses were closed, so the people running them might not have realised they had received the bill."
Nia was not trading at the time of the controversial BID ballot so did not vote either way. She said that at first she didn’t know anything about the scheme, but added that when she asked others in the town the feeling was that they didn’t know either. Asked what she would do if she was given the opportunity to vote now regarding the setting up of the BID scheme, Nia replied: “I would definitely vote no. It doesn’t bring anything to the town. I have spoken to a councillor about this and told him - the events the BID put on are events that the council have run for years anyway. So why is it that we need to pay for something that was already there?
“There is no benefit at all. I don’t think it was explained very well to business owners in terms of what they would have to pay into it. In theory it’s a brilliant thing, but the way it’s been managed is terrible. I think a number of business owners are frightened to speak up about it in case it damages their business. I don’t care, I want to speak up.”
When concerns raised by local traders were put to Carmarthen BID itself, its manager Matthew Newbold said: “Revenue collection for the BID is entirely the domain of Carmarthenshire Council and we have no influence over this as it is the council’s legal requirement under the 2005 BID Act to collect the levy. It’s also worth noting that 96% of eligible businesses have already paid the levy, and all businesses are getting the benefit of BID activities whether they have paid or not.”
Carmarthenshire Council is not involved with the running of Carmarthen BID and had no say in the scheme being set up, but it does act as the collection agent for the levy paid or owned by businesses for being a part of it, and therefore is responsible for collecting and demanding money. The council insists that the BID scheme was set up correctly and says there is no justification in businesses refusing to pay.
When asked about this week's bailiff visits, the council's director of corporate services, Chris Moore, said: “A complaint was made to Llanelli Magistrates Court regarding non-payment of the Carmarthen BID levy for 2020 and 2021, and this was heard in Llanelli Magistrates Court on Monday, March 21 2022. The court awarded liability orders for non-payment of the BID levy, however, an adjournment was made for a number of liable parties who had made representations via a class action. The adjournment was made for the representations to be dealt with by the Welsh Government. These matters have now been dealt with.
"We are satisfied that the Carmarthen BID process was compliant with legislative requirements and that the statutory timescale within which the process could have been challenged has long passed. We can see no valid basis upon which the BID process can now be challenged or any justification for refusing to pay the BID levy.
"Members of the BID levy who had their cases adjourned and have not paid their outstanding arrears have been resummoned to court. The council and the enforcement agents have also written to the liable parties on a number of occasions encouraging them to engage and make arrangements to pay. The visit is the final attempt to obtain payment of the arrears following the various correspondence advising of the charges. No arrears of the Carmarthen BID levy have been written off and all arrears will be pursued through the appropriate channels.”
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