The businesses of Knaresborough have been told BID is for the businesses, decided on by the business, but how can this be true if mass block council voting influences the ballot result?

For anyone that doesn’t know, Harrogate District Council (HBC) will have a vote for each Hereditament it is the rates payer for in the BID area; that’s every car park, toilet and each of nearly 10 offices it has in Conyngham Hall etc - in the region of 27 votes all together!

Knaresborough BID hbc block vote abstain.png

HBC is legislated as a BID partner, and has a vested interest in BID businesses investing in one of it’s towns, but it also has a moral responsibility to do right by both voting sides and not show bias. This makes the Council a very different voter.

The only way a fair ballot can be achieved for the businesses BID is meant to be for, is if HBC does the right thing and abstains from voting for its properties, in order to let the businesses decide for themselves.

Let’s just look as the massive influence HBC’s block voting is likely to have on the BID ballot. This past week the BID proposers said there are 307 voters and HBC have 27 votes, at first glance it doesn’t sound like much but it’s not that simple, here’s why:

- Average BID ballot turnout is less than 50%.

- So being generous at 50% let’s say 153 votes are cast.

- Say it’s close and YES wins with 77 votes and HBC has voted YES.

- HBC will have cast 27 of those 77 YES votes = 35%, a massive 1/3 of the whole YES vote, for just 1 voting decision. This is the real danger.

If ballot turnout is lower this council block voting will have more weighting, and there’s also other public sector buildings and North Yorkshire County Council votes I haven’t even included in this calculation. So public sector votes could easily be 40-50% of the YES vote!!

HBC should not vote NO, morally that’s not fair given it would cause voting bias against those businesses wanting a BID, and by the same reasoning HBC should not vote YES, as it would cause voting bias against all those businesses not wanting a BID. You only have to look over at the turmoil created by council votes deciding the Yorkshire Coast DBID, and the headache Scarborough Borough Council has with the fallout (another Mo Aswat BID). The BID didn’t have the true support of the businesses and is failing miserably.

If Knaresborough is to do BID, it will only work if the true majority of real businesses vote it in, and the only way that can happen is a ballot without council voting influence. So far HBC have done the right thing as a council by supporting development of this BID proposal and that’s only right. BUT the fairest and most morally acceptable decision for them is to abstain from voting, and be proud that they have embraced the true spirit of BID regulations by leaving the decision to the businesses.

It is important Knaresborough businesses both YES and NO voters take this message and embrace the morally right thing to and:

(1) Request that the BID proposers ask HBC and North Yorkshire County Council to abstain. If they won’t at least have the morals to officially ask the Councils to do this, then you know they really don’t have your best interests at heart, and are happy to force in the BID with Council block votes.

(2) Write to all Harrogate Borough Council and Yorkshire councty Council Councillors to help them see the moral sense in them ensuring their own councils abstain. What is happening is not democratic and fair on ALL Knaresborough businesses, Councillors more than anyone should be able to see this.

On the other hand if you are a Councillor with HBC or NYCC reading this, the right thing for you to do by your Knaresborough constituents is ask your own Council to abstain from voting. Even if you support the idea of a BID, the decision really should be made by the businesses. If the BID is forced in by Council votes, do you really want to find yourself in the same mess as Scarborough Borough Council?

Everyone has been told BID is meant to be for businesses, decided by the businesses, so let’s make sure this really happens!

The Councils must do the ‘right thing’ and abstain from voting.