Sweeping away no-go areas

Anyone visiting New York's Times Square district would notice the clean streets, absence of graffiti and the flowers and young trees growing in the parks and on verges.

But before 1992 the area was a magnet for prostitution, street crime and drug-trafficking, a "no-go" area for all but the most daring or foolhardy of tourists.

Its transformation began when business leaders got together to establish a Business Improvement District (BID), a scheme pioneered in the US in the Seventies.

A BID is a geographical area where businesses have agreed to pay for specific things - such as public art, graffiti removal or festivals - out of their own pocket.

In Times Square businesses went further and paid for social workers to deal with the homeless and teams of security patrol officers - "goon squads" as opponents called them.

But, despite opposition from some quarters, the results were dramatic.

Within seven years street crime fell by almost 59 per cent and illegal goods peddling fell by 37 per cent.

There are now 1,200 BIDs across America and they are widely credited with turning around parts of towns and cities that once seemed to be locked in terminal decline.

But critics argue that BIDs result in soulless urbanity.

They are unhappy about the "Disneyfication" of public spaces, where everything is blandly rendered into something appealing to tourists.

BID initiatives to deal with "unsightly" homeless people being "swept" off the streets have also been criticised. These improvement districts polarize the rich and poor, others claim.

BIDs also raise a more fundamental question: Who owns our public spaces?

All this matters because BIDs are set to take off in the UK. Legislation was finalised in November and businesses in Kingston upon Thames have already voted in favour of establishing a BID. With the use of a supplementary levy on business rates, shopkeepers and traders in the London borough have raised £4 million to improve transport, street cleaning and marketing of the area.

During the next few weeks business leaders in Maidstone, Coventry, Plymouth, Liverpool, Lincoln and Birmingham will vote on whether to run pilot BID schemes.

BIDs are democratically run organisations where votes are cast and the majority decision rules.

Even businesses which vote "no" will have to pay for projects.

These tend to be things that would have a direct commercial benefit on businesses in the area, such as Christmas lights or improved public transport, but should also benefit communities.

The arrangement would work as a partnership between the public and private sectors.

Supporters say BIDs deliver additional services that the council is under no obligation to provide and solve the problem of "freeriders" who benefit from things like Christmas lights but aren't prepared to pay for them.

Now the Brighton and Hove Business Forum and the city council is looking into the feasibilty of BIDS and talking to business associations to gauge the level of interest.

If there is sufficient interest from businesses there could be a BID, or perhaps more than one, in place by the end of the year.

Areas such as Western Road, London Road and Kemp Town would be prime canditates for the initiative.

Tony Mernagh, executive director of the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, which is part of the forum, thinks BIDs could transform the city.

He said: "The great thing about BIDs is the businesses in the areas decide what they want done and what will benefit their patch.

"All the BIDs might say they want the graffitti in their area removed and some people might say that makes the city bland.

"But most people would say that's the kind of blandness I can live with. Likewise I cannot see too many people objecting to more street cleaning or more security at night."

He added: "Once people see the improvements, businesses in other areas will want to adopt the scheme.

"But the really important thing about them is they remove the "freeloader syndrome". Businesses will no longer be able to say, 'I'm not paying as somebody else will'. There is an argument about the ownership of public spaces but businesses own their premises and they have a right to keep them clean of graffiti."

Martin Lawrence, of the Hove Business Association, said: "I can see the argument that liberals might have about public ownership but I expect all of the proposals put forward would be for the common good.

"You cannot expect the council to pay for everything and, for things like street cleaning and Christmas lights, BIDs would be a good thing.

"There are some businesses who won't pay for anything, largely out of apathy. Here, BIDs could help foster a sense of community spirit. We haven't consulted our members yet so these are my views only but there has been a drop-off in the amount of police so increased security might be a good thing.

"The argument about everywhere becoming bland could equally be levelled against huge shopping centres like Churchill Square."

Peter Stocker, chairman of the North Laine Traders' Association, is supportive of the idea and wants North Laine to be the focus of the first BID in Brighton.

He said: "There is a real push in Brighton and Hove to raise our game a bit in terms of our reputation as a tourist centre and BIDs could be a way of doing that. When our association first started we asked businesses if they wanted to contribute to Christmas lights, for example, and between 80 and 90 per cent said they did.

"This year only 48 per cent agreed. That's because they have more demands on their money but also there is the 'somebody else will pay for it' attitude.

"We would not want to change the character of North Laine and nor would we have to because each BID can vote on specific things to their area."

He added: "If you start to look at other things like added security patrols then it would be very important to consult with residential groups."