Traders on Okehampton’s industrial estates are up in arms after receiving demands for payment for the Okehampton BID.

Levy letters have been arriving outlining the intention of the BID (Business Improvement District) with demands attached worth hundreds of pounds.

Just over a third of the 270 businesses eligible to vote on the BID proposal took part in the summer ballot.

Not only are traders questioning the validity of its outcome, with just 52 out of 79 votes cast voting to accept the BID proposal; some in the outlying trading estates say the BID was never intended to include them.

Arriving just days before the due date of October 1, business owner Nick Titchen, a one-man band who runs a business on the Exeter Road Industrial Estate, was up in arms at the demand notice he received.

He said: “I’ve had business owners calling in today for a chat and there is a lot of distaste regarding this. From speaking to others who did receive some correspondence, the way it was marketed to any of the businesses involved, it was a consultation on Okehampton high street town BID. Nothing about the industrial estates.”

He said traders who saw the proposal for a BID squashed back in 2013 are surprised to see it back.

Nick continues: “I commend the individuals for wanting to make the town better. Good on them. But I don’t lie on the ground under a trailer in the pouring rain in the middle of winter to pay even more bills for something I knew nothing about or voted in favour of.”

A scheduled meeting of the Okehampton BID committee takes place on Tuesday, October 2 with business owners being asked, via social media, to email borough councillor Cllr Caroline Mott with their concerns.

The levy on businesses is expecting to raise £650,000 over five years for improvements to help boost the economy.

The levy is established In the first year of the BID as being two per cent of the rateable value of eligible businesses’ premises. From the second year onwards, the levy rate will be increased by the fixed rate of inflation of three per cent per annum (rounded).

Both West Devon Borough Council and Okehampton Town Council will also have to pay a BID levy on the rateable value of eligible properties, WDBC confirms.

A spokesperson said: “The BID project was a business-led initiative which the councils helped to facilitate.”

The start up costs for the incurred over the last 12-18 months, estimated to be around £40,000, have been paid by West Devon Borough Council and Okehampton Town Council. The BID is being set up with the aim of promoting businesses within the town.

Approached for a comment, the BID board said they would make a statement once the BID board was in place.

WDBC did confirm however, as the levy collector, that they would deal businesses unable to pay on a case by case basis.

Nick is standing firm, adding: “We’re not just staying quiet for WDBC. They’ll know there’s a lot of businesses that aren’t happy and that we’re not paying as a result until stuff is rectified.”