Contents:
- What is a BID and how does it work?
- BID Ballot 2026: the process
- About FOR Cardiff: our track record
- The BID area: how it looks now and what we propose for 2026-2031
- The levy
- Delivering More FOR Cardiff Together
What is a BID?
Business Improvement Districts are local, independent organisations voted for, led and funded by the eligible, normally larger, local businesses and organisations (BID members) in a defined area over a five-year term. With that collective investment and alongside its members and other partners, the BID delivers local improvements informed by its members’ local knowledge and experience.
How it works
- A BID is set up by a democratic postal ballot of all eligible businesses in the proposed BID area.
- If the ballot is successful, the businesses within that area will pay a compulsory levy based on the rateable value of their property to create a ringfenced budget which will be used to deliver projects to improve the area.
- A BID board of volunteers from levy paying businesses runs the BID (FOR Cardiff’s board would be expanded to include representation from Cardiff Bay).
- BID services are in addition to those provided by the Council. The levy cannot be used to subsidise Council services and it is entirely separate from your business rates.
- A BID term runs for a maximum of 5 years, after which businesses vote on whether to re-elect the BID for another term.
Why has Cardiff got one?
Most major cities in the UK have a BID to go above and beyond what the public sector can deliver, and provide a strong response to local needs and priorities while also representing the local corporate community.
84% of businesses voted to establish a BID in Cardiff city centre in 2016. This yes vote was exceeded in a second successful ballot in 2021 when FOR Cardiff secured a second five-year term with 91% voting yes by number and 94% by rateable value, enabling a further £7+ million investment over five years. A third ballot is to take place in Summer 2026.
Who runs the BID?
FOR Cardiff, the city centre BID, was established as a private, not-for-profit membership organisation. It has delivered projects to improve everyone’s experience of the city centre, with a focus on making it cleaner, greener and safer and creating additional reasons to visit.
The Executive Director is Carolyn Brownell and the Board is made up of representatives of its member organisations across the spectrum of sectors. They are volunteers, responsible for the effective delivery of the business projects and services.
Why do we need a BID – isn’t it the Council’s job to look after the city? What extra does the BID bring?
Through FOR Cardiff, every year, businesses and other organisations within the BID area currently invest over £1.4 million pounds in the city centre to go above and beyond what we can expect the Council to deliver for the city. With public services being stretched further than ever – we need to secure regular, stable investment into our capital city.
Today, Cardiff city centre is a safer, cleaner, greener city thanks to this collective investment into our public spaces, our people, our events and our promotional campaigns. It continues to enhance the quality of the city offer, bringing in more people, new visitors and increasing the time people stay.
Our impact includes cleaner, safer streets, providing funded staff training and helping to address crime in the city centre. We also promote and celebrate everything we can be proud of about Cardiff city centre — from our historic arcades and our great places to eat and drink, to our green spaces and our family attractions. Working together, we’re making Cardiff a city that is even more loved for its unique character and warm welcome by everyone who lives, works, studies or visits here.
If it’s nothing to do with the local authority, why does the bill come from Cardiff Council?
Regulations stipulate that, as the authority responsible for billing and collecting business rates, Cardiff Council must also manage the billing and collection of the levy on FOR Cardiff’s behalf. Levy monies are held in a separate revenue account and transferred in full to FOR Cardiff.
Where can I find out more about the legals?
The Business Improvement District Regulations Wales can be found here.
Why is another ballot happening?
The current BID term ends on 30 November 2026. This means that, to continue securing additional investment and delivering improvements in the city, we need to hold a postal ballot. This will happen in summer 2026. If there is a positive vote, there will be a seamless transition to delivering the business plan that BID members will have voted on. If the result is negative, there will be no additional investment to deliver and FOR Cardiff will cease to exist.
Can businesses opt out of the BID/paying the levy?
All eligible businesses in the BID area can take part in the ballot, which is a yes/no vote on establishing the BID for another five years.Once the BID is established, all BID members — the eligible businesses in the BID area — must pay the levy, regardless of how they voted, which is collected by Cardiff Council as the billing authority and transferred to FOR Cardiff.
What is the timetable for the ballot?
How are votes cast?
By post. You should receive one ballot paper and return envelope for each property (hereditament) that you are eligible to vote for by post. If you do not receive your ballot paper, please email info@forcardiff.com.
- When you receive it/them, please check that each ballot paper has its own return envelope.
- You vote by putting a cross (X) beside your choice to retain the FOR Cardiff for another five-year term or not on the ballot paper.
- You complete the paper by writing your name and position in your business in block capitals and signing it. Each ballot paper must be returned in its own separate envelope – please do not put multiple papers in one envelope.
- Return your completed ballot paper(s) by post, in the pre-paid envelope provided.
How is the result decided?
The BID arrangements outlined in the business plan will come into force if the following two criteria are met: more than 50% of hereditaments that vote cast that vote in favour; and that total rateable value of the hereditaments that vote in favour is over 50%.
What happens if a majority of businesses vote ‘no’?
If the ballot is lost then FOR Cardiff ceases to exist and Cardiff will have no Business Improvement District from 1 December 2026. Current annual additional investment levels of £1.4 million in the city centre will be lost and potential investment levels across the city of £2.6 million per year – £13 million over the five-year term – won’t be realised.
This means that services such as weekly and members’ rapid response cleansing services, taxi marshals and CityNet Radio would disappear, along with popular promotional campaigns such as City of Arcades, our distinctive Christmas lights installations and Easter family attractions. Our members would lose out on our programme of consultations and networking events, the Cardiff Gift Card and The Card, our internship schemes, Equality City initiative and range of funded training courses.
What has FOR Cardiff done since December 2016?
FOR Cardiff has delivered over £12 million of members’ investment in award-winning campaigns and projects that enable businesses, organisations and people to thrive here, and to promote the city’s unique character and warm welcome to visitors. Those projects have improved everyone’s experience of the city centre, with a focus on making it cleaner, greener and safer and creating additional reasons to visit.
FOR Cardiff also plays a unique role in representing our members’ best interests in wider partnerships with partner organisations within the city, policymakers and the media.
To see the many examples of what FOR Cardiff has delivered for the city since 2016, please see pages 8-15 of our consultation document on our website: DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031
How does FOR Cardiff compare with other cities’ BIDs?
FOR Cardiff is one of the UK’s leading BIDs, bringing expertise in place management and marketing to support its member businesses, and has a strong track-record of creating impactful, innovative and memorable — and award-winning — place-making campaigns.
What area does the BID currently cover and who sets the area for the BID?
The BID area is proposed and consulted on as part of a wider business plan which also proposes the activity of a BID and the levy charge. Organisations within the defined area then vote on whether or not they want the final business plan to be implemented in a formal ballot. If the outcome of the ballot is positive, a BID is formally established for the area.
Which businesses are currently members of the BID?
Currently, all businesses which have a rateable value over £25,000 which fall within the city centre BID area are BID members and subject to the BID levy. Businesses that fall under that threshold can opt to become voluntary members for an annual fee.
How is the BID area going to change?
FOR Cardiff is proposing enlarging the BID area to include organisations and businesses in Cardiff Bay as well as Cardiff city centre. We consulted with organisations in the Bay during September 2025 on a boundary extension to bring Cardiff Bay into the BID area — and their response was positive, with 68% in favour of proposing a ballot for the area.
Our proposal is currently being further consulted on with organisations in both the city centre and the Bay as set out in our consultation document, DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031. The response will inform our final business plan to be voted on in Summer 2026.
Why are you proposing to include the Bay?
We believe the big opportunity for Cardiff is to make the most of what the wider city has to offer. We know that the city centre and the Bay offer different but complementary experiences and its inclusion can only add to the capital’s appeal. The key point is that the time to start delivering that opportunity is now as we head into a once-in-a-generation period of transformational investment. Enlarging the area would also raise a further £1 million of annual investment in the city at this crucial time.
Historically the connection between the city centre and the Bay has been a challenge and that is now being addressed through the Cardiff Crossrail, due in 2028, also when the new arena in the Bay is due. Plus there are major city centre regeneration projects and Cardiff is fast gaining an international reputation as a destination for world-class sports and music events.
So we are proposing to FOR Cardiff existing city centre and potential Bay members that we enlarge the BID area to include the Bay, as outlined in DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031. This proposal follows independent consultation with businesses and organisations in Cardiff Bay in Autumn 2025, which was overwhelmingly positive.
If the response to this consultation is positive, we will include it in our business plan for 2026-2031 which will be voted upon. So the ultimate decision rests with local businesses.
Which part of the Bay are you proposing to include?
You can view the proposed BID area maps in our consultation document DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031. 68% of the organisations in the Bay we consulted with during September 2025 were in favour of proposing a ballot for the area.
Would the Bay BID be run separately?
We’re proposing one BID for Cardiff that unites the city centre and the Bay. As part of that, we are also proposing that the Bay area be represented on the Board and that we form a dedicated working group to properly integrate the Bay into existing projects for the initial two years of the next term.
Who sets the levy for the BID?
The levy is proposed in detail as part of the consultation with businesses, and voted on by all the businesses in the BID area during the ballot.
How much do FOR Cardiff members pay currently?
The levy is currently charged at 1.06% of the rateable value of the property that a business is located in (as of 1 April 2021 or at the point it entered the list if after that date). Some businesses may be eligible for a discount if they are part of a shopping centre and businesses with a rateable value under £25,000 or classified as industrial, manufacturing, storage, or workshop are not included in the BID levy.
A cap on the annual levy payable is set at £50,000 per business.
The finer detail of how the levy is charged can be found here.
What will the new levy rate be?
Our proposed levy rate for 2026-2031 is 1.6%. The levy for each hereditament (property) is calculated by multiplying the rateable value of that property by the levy rate, so for example a property with a rateable value of £30,000 would pay £480 a year.
The impact of the proposed increase varies by member. A small number will see a reduction in their bill, and the average change per hereditament would be an increase of £738 per year. We will be conducting one-to-0ne consultations around changes to discounts and the level we set for the cap with businesses who may be potentially affected.
FOR Cardiff’s levy rate was set at 1% in 2016 and has increased marginally to the current rate of 1.06% – with levies being charged based on the 2017 rateable value list. The costs of running services have increased significantly more than this. At the same time, changes to the valuation of some properties in Cardiff, on which the levy is based, means less money is collected overall. This has reduced our funding in real terms. To continue to deliver services at the current level, the levy rate must be increased. We are also proposing to include an annual inflationary increase, at the discretion of the Board, in the levy rules to ensure our ability to deliver does not diminish as the term goes on.
We are also proposing to raise the ‘rateable value threshold’ for businesses who will pay the levy from £25,000 to £30,000. If your property has a rateable value of below £30,000 on the 2023 ratings list, you will not be liable for the BID levy even if you are currently being charged the levy in the current term. This would mean that fewer SMEs would have to pay the levy. Businesses that fall below the threshold will have the option to join FOR Cardiff as voluntary members.
More detail on the proposed levy rate can be found on page 20 of our consultation document DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031.
How much will I pay?
The levy will be calculated based on the 2023 rating of your property so you can see the true cost of your levy bill now. To look up the rateable value of any property you can use the government’s valuation checker here.
How does this compare to other cities?
Across the BID industry in general the average levy rate currently stands at 1.55% .
The rate is generally higher for city BIDs – eg, Leeds and Bristol each recently set their levy rate at 1.9% .
How much money would the proposed new levy bring in?
The proposed levy arrangements would bring investment worth £2.6 million to Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay every year. This compares to the current £1.4 million from the city centre.
Over the five years of the next BID that would mean £13 million being invested to improve Cardiff by its businesses and organisations. FOR Cardiff will also pursue additional income to extend the scope of our delivery. During the current BID term £562,000 of additional income has been raised to supplement the levy paid by businesses, as well as tens of thousands of pounds worth of in-kind support. We will endeavour to continue in securing significant additional income in our third term to enhance our projects and delivery.
What about the challenges that we are currently facing, like the cost-of-living crisis and cost of employment?
While businesses are continuing to face significant economic pressures, they also tell us that they see the benefits of investing collectively into the capital city. That includes city centre businesses who have been investing and whom we have been representing since 2016 — including through the pandemic — and Cardiff Bay businesses we consulted with in the autumn of 2025.
As we look forward to the significant events and investments in Cardiff over the next five years, there is an unprecedented opportunity to give millions of visitors a great experience of our capital. Your collective investment will enable us to make that happen.
How do you know what Cardiff needs in 2026-2031?
Our proposal, DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031 which is currently out for consultation, is informed by our experience and expertise delivering our members’ investment in impactful city improvements since 2016 and working with them to identify priorities.
This proposal is also shaped by:
- the once-in-a-generation transformations that are planned for the city over the next five years
- our continuous work with city centre partners and members;
- our consultation with Bay businesses;
- our city-wide consultation with residents and organisations on how they experience their city and their priorities for the future
Following this consultation, we will publish our final business plan in May for our city centre and Bay organisations to vote on.
What would you deliver in the next term?
For more information, please take a look at our consultation document, DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031. The headlines are summarised on our consultation document: DELIVERING MORE FOR CARDIFF TOGETHER 2026-2031.
How can I have my say or share my thoughts?
There are lots of ways that you can help to shape FOR Cardiff’s proposed business plan for what the BID prioritises and delivers in the next five years
- Contact us using the contact information at the bottom of this page
- Email us to request a one-to-one meeting on consultation@forcardiff.com
- Join us at one of our events in the city centre or Bay – keep an eye out for our e-newsletters or on our socials for details
Once we have collected feedback and consulted with members in the city and centre, and potential members in the Bay, we will share our proposed Business Plan with you.