No To Clevedon BID

13/06/2026

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: THE SOUND OF ABSOLUTE NOTHING

It’s been a while since our last post, and you might assume that’s because something meaningful has happened. It hasn’t. In fact, the silence from Clevedon BID and North Somerset Council has become so deafening it’s almost impressive.

There were supposed to be Board minutes published for May — but none ever appeared. Did they even hold a meeting? Who knows. Transparency clearly isn’t fashionable this season.

We published the full results of our survey on the future of the BID, sent them to the BID Board, sent them to the Council, and asked for the courtesy of a response. Not a complicated request. Not a controversial one. Just basic accountability. And yet, despite North Somerset proudly calling itself a “listening council,” they’ve offered us nothing. Councillor Canniford himself promised to have the results looked at and come back to us. That was over 2 months ago now.

The BID Board promised to “discuss the findings” — but if they did, they certainly didn’t bother telling the levy payers who fund them. The whole thing feels less like leadership and more like a group project where everyone quietly hopes someone else will do the work.

At this point, you have to wonder whether they’ve simply given up. Because from the outside, it looks like the ship has sunk, the crew have vanished, and the wheelhouse is empty except for a flickering light and a stack of unpaid invoices.And speaking of invoices — let’s be honest. They’re not enforcing levy payments. They’re not chasing non‑payment. They’re not even pretending to.

So if another invoice lands on your desk, you already know where it belongs: straight in the bin, where all useless paperwork goes.Until the BID can prove it’s alive, functioning, and capable of even the most basic communication, levy payers should not be expected to bankroll a ghost organisation drifting quietly into irrelevance.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!!

21/05/2026

A quick update on the BID's “Clevedon in Bloomers” bunting situation- and some well deserved credit where it’s due.

After raising concerns about last year’s installation (which, let’s be honest, was unsafe and poorly managed), North Somerset Council’s Highways team have now come back with two extremely thorough responses.

They’ve confirmed that:

- No bunting will be installed without formal Highways consent

- A full risk assessment, method statement, and Chapter 8 traffic management plan have been provided

- Contractors must use PPE, proper access equipment, and supervised working methods

- Minimum clearance heights must be maintained at all times

- Measures are in place to prevent sagging, unraveling, or detachment in bad weather

- The weight of the decorations when water‑soaked has been assessed

- The safe working load of the supporting cables and fixings must be verified before anything goes up

- Reports of damage to buildings in the Triangle have been taken seriously and will be checked before approval

- If anything looks unsafe during installation or display, the Council can order immediate removal

This is exactly the level of diligence we should expect- and credit where it’s due, the officers handling this have been exemplary. We’re often the Council’s harshest critics, but the people we’ve dealt with in Planning and now Highways have been a real credit to the authority.

On a less positive note, it was disappointing to hear that one of the contractors involved in last year’s installation thought it was appropriate to threaten a town‑centre trader last week, accusing them of “causing trouble” and warning of “problems” if any further concerns were raised or reported. That behaviour is completely unacceptable and has no place in our town.

But overall, this is a good outcome.

Raising concerns worked.

The Council listened, acted, and tightened the process significantly.

Clevedon deserves safe, well‑managed installations- and thanks to the diligence shown here, that’s now what we’re getting. This year we have held the BID to account- no more cutting corners for them!

Rules apply to everyone!

CLEVEDON BID OUT!

14/05/2026

This weekend just gone saw the popular EAT festival visit Taunton and Nailsea, bringing thousands of visitors to their respective shopping areas.

In North Somerset- Portishead and Nailsea are both holding multiple EAT Festivals this year. The footfall this generates is clear for the eye to see.

Neither town has a BID scheme operating.

And yet in Clevedon, despite taxing the businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds- there hasn't been a single EAT festival in 3 years.

What clearer evidence do you need that this is a BID that is abjectively failing the businesses of this town.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!

06/05/2026

SO YOU WANT TO BE A CLEVEDON BID DIRECTOR? READ THIS FIRST.

Discover Clevedon (Clevedon BID Ltd) is out there advertising for new Board Directors- but what they aren’t telling you is far more important than what they are.

Because joining the Board of a private limited company isn’t just a nice volunteer role.
It comes with legal duties, personal liability, and real‑world consequences if the company breaks the law.

And Clevedon BID Ltd is already under two active investigations by the Insolvency Service:

1️⃣ Failing to keep an accurate, up‑to‑date register of company members

This is a basic legal requirement under the Companies Act.

They didn’t do it. (Suprise, suprise)

2️⃣ Directors appointing themselves as company members

They did this because there were no members left- but the people they appointed didn’t qualify under their own Articles of Association.

That’s a breach of their governing documents and company law.

This is not small stuff.

This is the kind of thing that gets companies shut down and directors sanctioned.

REAL‑WORLD CONSEQUENCES FOR DIRECTORS OF A NON‑COMPLIANT COMPANY?

If Clevedon BID Ltd is found to have broken the law, directors can face:

🚫 Disqualification from being a company director
Yes — you can be banned from being a director of any company in the UK for up to 15 years.

💳 Damage to your personal credit rating
Director disqualification and insolvency investigations can appear on credit files.

Good luck getting loans, mortgages, or business finance after that!

⚖️ Legal costs and enforcement action
Investigations can lead to enforcement, fines, or court proceedings.

Even if you’re not personally guilty, you’re still dragged into the mess.

🧨 Reputational damage

Your name becomes publicly associated with a failing, investigated company.

That sticks.

These are not hypothetical risks.
These are standard consequences under the Companies Act and Insolvency Service enforcement powers.

AND LET’S BE HONEST — WHY WOULD YOU JOIN A SINKING SHIP?

Clevedon BID is under investigation, it's losing levy payers and it's running out of time, legitimacy and your money!

This isn’t “joining a Board”.

This is climbing aboard the Titanic after it’s already hit the iceberg.

They’re not looking for leaders.
They’re looking for lifeboat ballast — warm bodies to make the structure look legitimate while it sinks.

THE QUESTION EVERY APPLICANT SHOULD ASK...

Why are they recruiting NOW — at the exact moment the company is under investigation and the BID term is collapsing?

Because they need new names to spread the risk.
They need fresh faces to stand on the deck while the hull fills with water.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!!

No transparency.
No accountability.
No future.

And anyone thinking of joining their Board deserves to know exactly what they’re stepping into.

Would you really want to put yourself at risk and join the sinking ship?

30/04/2026

Amazing news!
Hill Road will not be hit with on‑street parking charges- after a rare U‑turn by North Somerset Council.

But let’s be honest: this wasn’t about “listening.”
It was about buckling- under the weight of the ongoing legal challenge over the Town Centre car parks, and the looming threat of another from the Town Council over Hill Road.

And now we have Clevedon BID trying to take credit for “campaigning long and hard.”

What a joke.

Their “effort” amounted to a few posters and a couple of social posts- the bare minimum of activity for which they’re famous.

Typical BID behaviour: swoop in, claim the glory, do nothing.

Meanwhile, where was their “long and hard campaign” for the Town Centre?

Nowhere.

Despite Town Centre businesses contributing the most to the BID fund, not a single thing has been done to fight the proposed charges on their behalf.

Ask the BID why they haven’t challenged the Town Centre charges and you’ll hit a wall of silence.

They won’t answer — because unless you’re in Upper Clevedon, they don’t care.

They’ll still take your money, though.

CLEVEDON BID OUT.
Enough excuses. Enough spin. Enough silence.

29/04/2026

CLEVEDON BID ACCOUNTS: THE NUMBERS THEY HOPED NO ONE WOULD READ!

Clevedon BID has filed its 2025 accounts- and they paint a picture of an organisation that has stopped delivering, stopped collecting income, and is now simply sitting on levy payers’ money.

Worth noting that these are the micro accounts, not the full accounts- which they don't publish. Ever.

Have they been independently audited? Nope. All compiled by Mendip Accounting Solutions who's owner was also until recently a BID Director. Make of that what you will!

Anyways last financial year, the BID was owed £21,405 in unpaid levy bills and general debt. This year, that figure has dropped to £2,309.

At first glance, that looks like progress?

It isn’t.

If levy payers had actually paid the £21,405 they owed, the BID’s cash would have risen by that amount. It didn’t. The cash increase is nowhere near large enough to account for those payments.

So what happened?

The BID didn’t collect the money.
It didn’t recover the arrears.
It didn’t bring levy payers back on board.

It simply abandoned the debt.

And on top of that, another £2,309 of unpaid levy has built up this year.

Meanwhile, the BID’s creditors have exploded from £0 to £18,555!!! 🚩

That’s money the BID now owes suppliers- money it doesn’t have because levy income has collapsed. What the hell is happening?

And yet, despite this collapse in income and confidence, the BID’s cash at bank has doubled from £26,608 to £55,076.

Why?

Because they are not delivering anything.
Because they are not investing in Clevedon.
Because they are panicking about the alarming increase in non payers which is rapidly increasing and dwindling their reserves.

What does this leave?

Just a growing pot of unspent cash and a shrinking base of levy payers willing to fund them.

This is not the profile of a healthy BID.
It’s the profile of an organisation that has lost the confidence of the town and is now clinging to whatever money it can hold onto.

The community survey shows a majority do not want the BID to continue beyond 2026.

The accounts show businesses have already voted with their feet.

The rising non‑payment shows confidence has collapsed.
And the cash‑hoarding shows the BID has stopped delivering altogether.

The question now is simple:

Why should Clevedon continue funding an organisation that can’t collect its income, can’t pay its bills, and won’t deliver for the town?

The BID’s own accounts tell the story more clearly than anyone else ever could.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!

20/04/2026

Clevedon BID- not so much a 'Business Improvement District', more a "Community Improvement District".

Using YOUR money.

£1200 the BID sunk into Clevedon's 'Green Shift Festival' (bearing in mind they hand out cheques like giving out sweeties).

At the March meeting the organisers thanked the board for giving them your cash saying it had "enabled them to think about all ages, from age 2 upwards. Working with schools on an art project, as well as professional artists on an exhibition" (Source= March minutes).

- 3rd Green shift festival
- Covers music, talks, poetry.
- Theme is interconnectivity

No mention of ways in which the money will help boost business vitality in Clevedon. Funny that....

Benefit to businesses= ZERO
Chances of boosting business vitality in Clevedon= ZERO
Chances of it putting more money in people's tills= ZERO

Yet it gets your money from a scheme that is supposed to be solely about business improvement? 🤔

As always the funding was signed off by a clique group of non-elected Directors, the majority of whom aren't even levy payers. So basically they don't care if your money gets poured down the drain- after all none of their money is going into it.

Is it any wonder 1 in 3 levy payers now refuse to pay these crooks? Not only that but the BID have now abandoned all efforts to force people to pay up or reclaim monies that people haven't paid in years.

What a bloody mess.

Clevedon BID OUT!

13/04/2026

YOU HAVE SPOKEN- THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE IN!

Hundreds of residents, businesses and levy payers took part in our Clevedon BID survey during March.

We want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to respond, even those who support the BID. We feel we got a fair spread of opinion and results from the responses recieved. In an age where we are all constantly asked for feedback or to complete surveys the prospect of another one can be off-putting- so we are genuinely very grateful to everyone who completed it.

We are similarly grateful for all the comments received as part of the survey. These have all been presented, including one which stated "I daresay my responses will magically disappear!". Well they didn't- everything that was submitted has been included as unlike the BID we like to be transparent.

The full survey results can be viewed here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpUneND9utN5K00tnSwL1OgjDxUEXNzy/view?usp=drivesdk

In summary, the results aren’t just bad… they’re catastrophic.

🔥 63% VERY unsatisfied with the BID’s performance
🔥 78% say the BID DOES NOT represent good value for money
🔥 A huge majority want an early 2026 reballot
🔥 Confidence in fair spending across Clevedon is rock‑bottom
🔥 People describe the BID as “divisive”, “undemocratic”, “a vanity project”

After taking £470,000+ in compulsory levies, the BID has delivered almost zero confidence in return.

Is it any wonder as of this current financial year 1 in 3 business are refusing to pay up?

We have written to Councillor Mike Bell - Lib Dem and the Clevedon BID board to present out survey results and impress on them the urgent need for action in response.

Our letter can be viewed here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dx8EqJ4pgGnrb39BSqgnrmffyrK6hxyW/view?usp=drivesdk

Clevedon deserves better than this.
And the community is now saying it loudly.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!

07/04/2026

CLEVEDON BID — THE LIES KEEP COMING!

Clevedon BID has sent out yet another letter trying to justify why many businesses will see their levy bills rise this August after the April rate revaluation.

They claim it’s a legal requirement and that “any change to how the levy is calculated would require a formal alteration ballot.”

That’s not just misleading — it’s a flat‑out lie.

The BID’s own 2023 Business Plan says:

“The BID levy rate will be fixed for the full term of the BID (five years) and will not be subject to inflation or alterations.”

So the levy rate is fixed. It cannot be altered.
Freezing rateable values at 2023 levels would not increase anyone’s bill or make anyone newly liable — meaning no ballot is required under Regulation 17. Their claim that an alteration ballot is required to change how the levy is calculated is a LIE!

There is nothing in Clevedon BID’s rules or its operating agreement with North Somerset Council that prevents them from doing this. They could protect businesses tomorrow if they wanted to.

But they won’t — because they benefit from the increases.

Town‑centre businesses will see their bills fall, cutting BID income. Hill Road and upper Clevedon businesses will see theirs rise, plugging the gap. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul.

And while they plead poverty, their February financial update revealed:

- Marketing spend down 31 %
- Events down 42 %
- Admin up 5 %

So when they say your levy “funds events and marketing,” what it really funds is more admin. Those facing bigger levy bills from August- thats what youll be paying more for. Less of what you want, more of what you don't want!

They’ve ignored their own terms, misled levy payers, offered no support to those facing increases, and are exploiting the very businesses they claim to represent.

The BID could stop this. They just choose not to.

So whilst the BID yet again claims we are "spreading misinformation", they are the ones exposing themselves as liars who are not prepared to honour their own terms and conditions to protect businesses from increased levy bills.

CLEVEDON BID OUT!

29/03/2026

ANOTHER BID SCHEME GONE!

We are delighted to announce that yet another BID Scheme has been voted out at ballot- this time in Felixstowe on the east coast.

79 voted against it continuing, only 37 voted in favour.

A local trader had this to say:

"There is a lot of dissatisfaction within the town.They have had over £600,000 over the last five years to spend on the town and a lot of people have said, 'what have we had for the money?"

Sound familiar?

Clevedon BID has itself splashed out nearly £500,000 since 2018 and we have to ask ourselves "what did Clevedon get for that eye watering amount of money".

So remember, it's not just a "small group of people in Clevedon" who are dissatisfied with the BID. Traders in other parts of the country where these schemes operate are kicking them out for the same reason- it's a total waste of other people's money!

Thankfully the number of traders refusing to pay their BID levy is increasing each year. You can refuse to pay yours too! Email us for details at [email protected]

A ballot on whether to continue or scrap Felixstowe Business Improvement District (BID) is currently taking place.