SHOPS and businesses in the centre of Tavistock have less than two weeks to decide whether to go ahead with a plan to raise thousands of pounds to improve the town's profile over the next five years.

Ballot papers have been issued to all the businesses within the BID (Business Improvement District) area — it stretches from Plymouth Road in the west to Parkwood Road in the east, Kilworthy Hill to the north and the River Tavy in the south.

Spurred on by the success of BIDs in other town and cities, including Plymouth, Tavistock Chamber of Commerce has spearheaded the process to put together a business plan for Tavistock.

Tavistock Town Council and West Devon Borough Council have both strongly supported its development with grant funding.

BIDs put businesses in control of a fund to raise town profiles, increase footfall, improve the visitor experience and find ways of saving businesses money.

A BID can only be set up following a ballot of all the businesses that will be paying towards its costs through a 1.5% levy on the rateable value of their premises.

To be successful there has to be a majority vote in favour of the Tavistock BID and the rateable values of those businesses voting for the proposal is greater than those voting against.

The result is expected the day after the June 29 deadline for ballot papers to be in. If given the go-ahead the initiative is expected to raise around £60,000 a year.

This would mean that for the first time all businesses, big, small, independent and multi-national will contribute towards town centre enhancement.

The business plan states that 75% of businesses would pay less than £5 a year for all the benefits that Tavistock BID would bring to the town.

The BID is about improving the trading environment of Tavistock.

Four key areas have been highlighted in the business plan:

l marketing and promotion

l car parking, including introducing periods of free parking

l around town, improving signage and creating a more attractive environment

l business support and monitoring.

Tavistock BID group team member Lisa Wadling said it was really important to vote because it affected every single business within the designated area.

'With the ballot papers sent out there is a business plan which details what will be developed over the five-year period,' she said.

'It is important people read that and pick out which bits will affect them. If they look at what the benefits are and think they will get their money back and more, then vote yes.

'BIDs are not a new idea, they have been done more than a hundred times in towns, villages and even industrial estates.

'They give business people and local managers a strong voice because we can scream as a whole. Someone is more likely to listen to us as a group than one person making a noise.'