Chichester BID wants a fourth five-year term with the levy up from 1.25% to 1.7% of rateable value. Consultation closes 17 August; postal ballot closes 5pm on 19 November.

Chichester’s city centre businesses are being asked to back a fourth five-year term for the Business Improvement District, with the levy they pay rising from 1.25% to 1.7% of rateable value, and the consultation on the draft plan closes on Monday 17 August, Chichester BID says.

The BID, a not-for-profit company funded by a compulsory levy on business premises in the city centre, was last renewed for the term running 2022 to 2027. Its draft business plan for 2027 to 2032 and a covering letter to levy payers set out three rule changes it wants businesses to accept before a postal ballot in the autumn.

The three changes

1. Levy rate up from 1.25% to 1.7%. The letter gives four reasons: an overall reduction in rateable values in the BID area following the 2026 business rates revaluation, rising inflation and operating costs, the need to keep the BID financially viable, and that 1.7% “remains in line with similar BIDs across the country”. Because rateable values changed in the 2026 rating list, the BID says more than a third of businesses are expected to pay less levy than they do now, with most others seeing “only a modest increase”. No inflationary uplift would be applied during the term, the ballot FAQ confirms.

2. Vacant listed buildings lose their exemption. Owners of empty listed buildings, currently exempt from the levy, would become liable after three months of vacancy, in line with other empty premises. The BID says this is already the approach in “a number of historic cities”.

3. The 2026 rating list is fixed for the term. Rateable values would be frozen at the 2026 list for the five years, with changes after rating appeals applied going forward only and no backdated refunds.

Where the money would go

The draft plan splits available funds three ways:

  • 50% on Chichester as a destination: marketing campaigns, seasonal events, the Christmas lights and switch-on, the Proudly Independent Chichester campaign, family trails, flags and bunting.
  • 35% on a safe, sustainable and welcoming city: the BID Ambassador team, the ChiBAC business crime scheme, wayfinding signage, seasonal planting with the City Council, and representing businesses at policing meetings.
  • 10% on a thriving business community: the Chichester Gift Card, the Chichester and District Business Awards, networking and training, and a proposed annual Voice of Business Report.

The draft does not say how the remaining 5% is allocated.

Chichester BID 2026 ballot timeline: consultation closes 17 August, business plan published 14 September, notice of ballot 6 October, papers issued 20 October, proxy deadline 9 November, ballot closes 5pm 19 November, count 20 November
How the ballot runs, from the BID's own FAQ. Graphic by Chichester Live.

How the vote works

The FAQ sets out the timetable:

  • 14 September: final Business Plan published on the BID website.
  • 6 October: official Notice of Ballot.
  • 20 October: ballot papers posted to every eligible voter by the ballot holder, Civica Election Services. Each property or hereditament in the BID area gets its own paper and must return it in its own envelope.
  • 2 November: if a paper has not arrived, ask for a replacement request form; replacements go out from 13 November.
  • 9 November, 5pm: deadline to appoint a proxy.
  • 19 November, 5pm: completed papers must have reached Civica. The vote is entirely by post.
  • 20 November: count, with the result declared by Chichester District Council shortly afterwards.

To pass, the proposal needs a double majority: more than half of those voting must vote yes, and the yes votes must also represent more than half of the total rateable value of all votes cast.

What it means for you

  • If you run a business in the BID area, Monday 17 August is the last day to comment on the draft plan, by phone on 01243 773263, by email to office@chichesterbid.co.uk, or by arranging a meeting. The BID also asks businesses to tell it who their designated levy voter is, and asks occupiers of listed buildings to pass the letter to their landlord because of the vacancy change.
  • Check what the change means for your own bill. Whether you pay more or less depends on how your rateable value moved in the 2026 revaluation as well as the higher rate; the BID’s claim is that more than a third of businesses will pay less. Your rateable value is on the Valuation Office Agency’s find-a-business-rates-valuation service.
  • If you shop or work in the city centre, the levy pays for the Christmas lights, the ambassadors, the gift card and the events programme. The current term ends in 2027, and without a successful ballot the BID cannot go on charging the levy that funds them; a yes vote continues it to 2032.

For the district’s own planning and licensing decisions affecting city centre premises, see Chichester planning news.

Sources: Chichester BID, 2026 Ballot page, ballot FAQ, draft business plan 2027 to 2032 and consultation covering letter, all accessed 16 August 2026.