Traders question value of improvement group costs

Independent businesses in Keighley have questioned the impact of an organisation tasked with reversing the fortunes of their town centre.

Traders said the Keighley BID (Business Improvement District) levy, a mandatory annual charge, which costs some hundreds of pounds, was a "robbery".

According to its website, Keighley BID uses funds raised to "enhance the promotion of the town centre to thousands of visitors, increasing footfall and encouraging additional consumer spending in Keighley town centre".

A BID spokesperson said the benefits of paying the charge "more than outweigh the cost of the levies for many members".

Introduced in 2024 after a vote by local businesses, Keighley BID is a private sector-led initiative requiring businesses with a rateable value of £8,000 or more to pay a 1.75% levy on top of their other running costs.

The BID claimed the average cost for a small or medium-sized businesses would be 99p per day, but not everybody is happy about another bill.

Raz Ahmed, who has run Cavendish Mobiles for 10 years, described the levy as "a Dick Turpin kind of thing".

"It's robbery. At least he wore a mask," said the businessman.

Ahmed is one of several business owners the BBC spoke to who do not have to pay the levy and have chosen not to opt in, in exchange for BID services.

He said he had been aware of Keighley BID since its first incarnation in 2018, but was still unsure what the organisation did.

"In the last seven or eight years we have had one or two visits from them."

Unsurprisingly, he did not think the levy represented value for money "at all".

"As a small business you have got your rent to pay, your council tax [...] you have got so many overheads, then you have this to deal with.

"There are more and more shops getting empty day by day and I don't see any improvements to the town centre or extra footfall."

Pete Narey, who runs Jackie's café on the corner of Bradford Road with his wife Jackie, revealed how last year he went to court over his refusal to pay the levy.

"After reading their manifesto, I don't think they kept up with their side of the agreement," he said.

"If they don't keep up with their side of the agreement, I don't see why I should pay."

Narey was eventually ordered to cough up and has since received a reminder to pay £176 for this year. He said he still didn't know what the money would pay for.

According to its website, Keighley BID said the levy funds "improvements" such as enhanced security measures or cleaning.

Pointing to a sack of rubbish discarded on the street outside the café, Narey said his business "hadn't seen a thing" in exchange for their investment.

"All I have ever seen them do is reposts on Facebook," he added.

In its business plan, Keighley BID claimed its benefits for independent retailers included marketing and promotion to more than 200,000 potential customers through social media.

Yet the organisation's social media pages have follower counts in the hundreds, with little to no likes, shares or comments on many posts.

"If a customer is looking for a café they are not going to say, 'let's have a look at Keighley BID and what they say'," said Ahmed.

Claire Ducie has run Audrey Asquith Flowers on Cavendish Street for 12 years. She said she paid the previous levy, but had opted out of the current one as the cost was not compulsory for her business.

"The way things are it's an extra expense," she said.

Ducie praised a marketing campaign from the BID in the build up to Christmas, which incentivised shoppers to shop with businesses who pay the levy for the chance to win prizes, but said the temporary scheme was "the only thing I thought was worth paying for".

She said she could "sympathise" with the position of those businesses who had taken a more hard-line stance.

"There have been a few teething problems with how visible they are [and] how much they include other businesses who aren't a part of it."

At the other end of the town centre, on North Street, Cherita Wood runs RIRI'S Coffee House in the Heritage Arcade.

She too has chosen to opt out of paying the levy.

Wood, who hopes RIRI's will soon have charity status, admitted independent businesses like hers "need support", but questioned why they should have to pay for it.

"Finance shouldn't be a barrier," she said.

Erzebet Barthold, who runs Miss Lollipop's Bookshop on Cavendish Street, has opted into the scheme, which is due to run until 2028, but said she remained "on the fence".

Other businesses owners she had spoken to were "also dubious", she added.

"I'm not entirely sure what I'm paying for," admitted Barthold, who handed over £105 for 2026.

"They did some Christmas promotional things to help businesses, that didn't appear to have too much of an impact.

"It didn't seem to give us any more business, we had a pretty poor holiday season."

Barthold praised the BID's installation of hanging baskets in the summer months to help brighten up her shop front and said the organisation's plans for 2026 had made her "hopeful" of a return on her investment.

"I have paid for this year, we will see about next," she said.

A BID spokesperson said it had "invested levy payers' hard-earned money into several projects that all members can access".

They included a free photography package, shop signage grant, subsidised hanging baskets and free press releases.

Shop radios to help combat shoplifting and anti-social behaviour would be available "in the next few weeks", they added.

Communication with members was also "regular", according to the spokesperson.

"We look forward to continuing to work with our local small businesses as we are stronger together - which is the ethos behind all BIDs."

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