In July businesses across the city centre and Cardiff Bay voted in record numbers in favour of a new five-year term for FOR Cardiff, our city’s Business Improvement District.
With 92% of businesses voting ‘yes’ by number and 97% by rateable value, the result was a significant mandate for us to build on FOR Cardiff’s track record of delivering for the city, working together to collectively invest in delivering more for Cardiff, together.
A key part of the business plan we presented for the ballot was the inclusion of Cardiff Bay in the BID area, bringing together the city’s two most important commercial destinations.
This, along with some changes to our city centre footprint, means we will welcome lots of new businesses into FOR Cardiff when our new term starts on 1 December. They will become members of FOR Cardiff and start to contribute to our work through the annual levy.
As we count down to 1 December we are sharing the information that all our new members will need to make the most of their FOR Cardiff membership – from the member-led projects and services that help the city thrive such business support, marketing, safety initiatives, research, advocacy and city-making activity, to the contacts you need to have your say in shaping the work we do on your behalf.
Get Ready FOR Cardiff: 5 WEEKS TO GO
What you can expect from our new term (2026-2031)
Cardiff is undergoing a once-in-a-generation period of transformation. Major developments, new infrastructure and investment are unlocking significant opportunities.
Our business plan for the new term, developed in consultation with businesses and stakeholders across the city, is focused on helping businesses to realise the bottom-line benefits from these new opportunities.
At the same time, ongoing economic pressures continue to test the resilience of businesses across the city, and collective action and a strong voice are crucial to building lasting commercial confidence in the city.
Our work over the last ten years has created a cleaner, greener and safer urban environment, with more reasons to visit, and in our third BID term, we look forward to extending these successes across the city centre and Cardiff Bay.
Our plans sit under four objectives – the framework which will shape our delivery, investment and impact:
- Deliver outstanding member value: demonstrate the value of levy investment through services, projects and investment in place.
- Influence the future of Cardiff: use evidence and the collective voice of our members to shape decisions for the city.
- Lead collaborative city partnerships: bring partners together around shared priorities to deliver greater combined impact.
- Build a high-performing organisation: strengthen our people, culture, governance and financial resilience.
How we deliver on those objectives will be shaped by three member-led working groups. They are responsible for setting the direction, and evaluating the success of, our investments in the city.
Our three working groups are:
- City Operations: Delivering a safe, clean and welcoming city
- City Experience: Creating and celebrating vibrant, inclusive and memorable city experiences
- Business & People: Supporting thriving businesses, skilled people and inclusive growth
A new Cardiff Bay Working Group will also be established to manage issues and projects tailored to the needs of the Bay. This will run for the two years to ensure Bay businesses are integrated into the management of the BID. We are currently seeking expressions of interest from potential members of this group – if you would like to know more, contact us here.
Building on the strategy we set out in our Business plan, which you can read here, we are now developing our Action Plan for 2026/26 in consultation with members, and look forward to sharing that in the coming weeks.
The expanded BID area – welcoming Cardiff Bay
FOR Cardiff will welcome Cardiff Bay into membership from 1 December, making a stronger connection between the city centre and its waterfront.
Bringing Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay within a single BID area will strengthen the city’s economy and improve alignment of Cardiff’s commercial, cultural and visitor economies.
How to get involved
From our board to our working groups, FOR Cardiff is a member-led organisation. Our plans, projects and campaigns are based on the insights and experiences shared by our members about the business priorities which matter most to them.
When our membership term starts in December, we will introduce you to our Member Executive team. They ensure that you are kept up to date on the work that we’re doing, and are your main route to influence our programme of delivery.
Membership is also a strong community within the city and your BEO will let you know about all our events programme, our fully funded training offer and The Card, our member discount scheme.
As a member, or prospective member, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter so that we can keep you up to date with the latest news, and follow FOR Cardiff on social media.
Tell us about your priorities
We want to hear from members – both existing and new – about their priorities for the coming year as we shape our Action Plan. If you’d like to contribute, please contact us and we will arrange a meeting.
The Levy Explained
The levy is our collective investment into providing additional services to make Cardiff a safer, more welcoming city, with more reasons to visit and a strong, well-represented community of successful businesses.
The levy will generate additional investment worth £2.3 million to Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay each year.
Businesses and organisations in the BID area will pay the mandatory levy from 1 December (providing their property has a rateable value of above £30,000 on the 2023 ratings list).
The levy for each property is calculated by multiplying the rateable value for that property by the levy rate (1.6% in 2026/27).
Read more about the levy and how it works here.