Plans to create a Business Improvement District (BID) have been approved by a ballot.

More than 530 businesses and other bodies from across St Albans in the designated BID area were eligible to vote and both a straight majority and a majority based on rateable values were required for the BID proposal to be successful.

The result was 97 votes in favour and 92 against on a turn-out of 36.9 per cent. The rateable values added up to £6,627,750 for the BID and £5,180,250 against it.

St Albans City Centre Partnership (CCP) launched a campaign to create a BID earlier this year. It is a community interest company which has a legal duty to use its profits for the public good.

The Electoral Reform Society administered the ballot, while St Albans City and District Council managed the process.

Ballot holder Michael Lovelady, the Council’s Head of Legal, Democratic and Regulatory Services, announced the result today.

It means that a BID will be set up in an area that includes St Peter’s Street, the High Street, Chequer Street and Holywell Hill.

The zone also takes in two shopping centres - The Maltings and Christopher Place - along with the Cathedral and the Council’s offices.

Among the businesses involved are shops, estate agents, law firms, cafes, restaurants, pubs, hairdressers and hotels.

Under the BID plan for St Albans, businesses in the area will pay a levy of 1.8 per cent of their rateable value. Those with rateable values of £10,000 or less will be exempt.

Around £500,000 a year will be raised with several projects having already been identified for BID funding.

The BID will start in spring next year and be run by a chairman and a board of directors, supported by a small full-time staff. The levy will be payable from April 1.

Voting forms for the ballot were sent out in mid-October and the poll closed on Thursday.

The BID will run for a maximum of five years at which point another vote will be required for it to continue.

A BID covers a defined area in which the businesses agree to a levy that will be used to improve and add services