Councillors vote overwhelmingly to ratify Dundalk BIDS for further five years

Louth County Councillors voted overwhelmingly to ratify a proposal for an extension of the Business Improvement District Scheme (BIDS) for Dundalk for a further five years at the local authority's September meeting, with councillors speaking in glowing terms of the work that has been done in the town to date under the scheme.

The purpose of the BIDS is to enable ratepayers within the district to draw up a scheme of projects, services and works, which are additional to those provided by Louth County Council and would be carried out for the benefit of the Dundalk BID and would be financed by an annual BIDS contribution levy, which currently equates to approximately 3.5% imposed on and collected from ratepayers of rateable property within the District.

The key objective of the Dundalk BIDS, through its initiatives, is to enhance the cultural identity of the town, boost its international profile and image and further promote and improve the trading environment for the area within Dundalk Town in which the ratepayers operate their businesses.

At the September meeting, Director of Strategic Economic Development, Thomas McEvoy, told members that a ratepayer plebiscite was held from July to August, with 94% voting in favour on an extension of the Dundalk BIDS term, which would run from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2028.

Speaking on the matter, Cllr Tomás Sharkey told the meeting that the results of the plebiscite are an indication of the work being done and the “great regard” the ratepayers of Dundalk have for the work being done by BIDS.

Cllr Sharkey offered his congratulations to BIDS Town Centre Commercial Manager, Martin McElligott, and his team, adding that “the town is amazing because of the work”.

Cllr Conor Keelan told the meeting that he was happy to see a renewal of the scheme in Dundalk, adding that the Dundalk was one of the first to embrace the scheme.

Cllr Marianne Butler, who is on the board of BIDS, said that it has been transformative for Dundalk and that she was expecting great things for the next five years, highlighting as an example, the creativity seen during the SEEK festival.

Cllr Robbie Nash also commended the work done by the Dundalk BIDS team, mentioning that 15 years ago, Dundalk was the first town to take on BIDS, and since then it has been taken on by others, which he added, “just goes to show what a success it is.”

Cllr Maeve Yore said she wanted to say “well done to Martin, Fiona and all the team at Dundalk BIDS”, adding that it has been “transformational in Dundalk”, and that it has put the town “on the national and international map”. “It has been a lot of hard work”, she further added, “and a lot of forward thinking”.

Following the comments from the councillors, a vote took place on whether or not to ratify the proposal for an extension to the scheme, with all councillors in attendance voting in favour.