London Riverside BID secures a fourth term after successful and resounding YES vote!
Press Release
7th March 2022
Rainham’s business owners votes ‘YES!’ to secure a fourth term for their Business Improvement District
Businesses in the heart of Rainham’s employment area, one of London’s most important industrial areas, have voted to continue the London Riverside Business Improvement District (BID) for a further five years.
Strong support for the BID’s work has once again been demonstrated with an impressive 94% of votes cast in favour of renewing the BID. This represents a 97% of the aggregate rateable value. Commencing on the 1st of April, this vote secures a fourth term for one of the country’s most established Business Improvement Districts and London’s largest industrial BID. It reinforces the London Riverside BID’s value as a vital employment zone, with over 400 businesses employing over 4,500 people from the surrounding region.
Eric Mollison, BID Chairman commented: “We’re overwhelmed by the support received from our business community. Our members represent the best of UK industry and have shown incredible resilience over the last two years, with the double-whammy of a pandemic and Brexit still having an impact. We’ve worked hard to maintain business-as-usual, keeping our members supported and informed, so we’re delighted to know our work is valued by so many London Riverside businesses and their workforce.
“This is a mandate to continue and evolve our work, which keeps our area safe, well maintained, accessible, green and fit for business. We’ve got more to do to tackle long-standing challenges, to help our members become carbon neutral and responsive to technological developments, and to improve connections with qualified people from the local employment pool.”
Alongside its core work, the London Riverside BID works collaboratively with Havering Council, landowners and important stakeholders so that it can leverage, for the economic benefit of its business community, the wider investment being made in London and the south-east. The industrial zone around Rainham and the A13 is brilliantly positioned to take advantage of the strategic ambition for the Thames Gateway region, which includes the Thames Freeport, the bold Thames Estuary plans, the Thames Gateway Production Corridor, and the relocation of the London wholesale markets, all of which will bring quality jobs and supply chain business opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.
Alongside its founding pillars of ‘Safe & Secure’, ‘Clean & Maintained’, ‘Accessible & Coordinated’, the BID will be strengthening its activities in two additional pillars, ‘Green & Sustainable’ and ‘Fit for the Future’.
Ilker Dervish, BID member and Board Director adds: “We want to continue to attract successful businesses that provide quality jobs, and to do so we need the right facilities and environment in which to operate. This includes investment in the green environment and public realm, better public transport links, world class digital connectivity, and substantial EV charging capacity for commercial vehicles. Rainham is poised to take advantage of the surrounding economic opportunities.”
Delivery of the 2022-2027 five-year term will commence on the 1st April 2022, focussing on the priorities set out in the BID’s Proposal Document and building on the last fifteen years of success.
Full proposals can be found here
Notes:
London Riverside (BID) Ltd is a company limited by guarantee and manages the industrial Business Improvement District in the south of Rainham. It represents over 450 businesses and 4500 employees spread across 5 km2.
A Business Improvement District is a business-led and -funded body created through a statutory ballot process to improve a defined area in which a small levy is charged on all business rate payers in addition to their normal business rates bill. These funds are used to make improvements to the defined area for the benefit of the levy payers. It runs for five years before requiring re-election and is a not-for-profit organisation.
Contact: Olga Astaniotis at the London Riverside BID, Tel: 01708 550279