LEVY PAYERS have narrowly voted in favour of a second term for Weymouth BID.

The organisation will now continue to run until 2023 after a vote of 149 to 142. Four votes were invalid and there were a total of 295 votes cast.

Levypayers in Dorchester also voted to keep their BID for a third term - by a much higher margin of 172 in favour and 47 against.

Chief operations officer at Weymouth BID Claudia Moore said the result would ‘definitely have been a ‘no’ six months ago’.

She added: “We have worked really hard and everyone has been so supportive.

“We are really pleased at the result. I’d like to thank the levy payers, the board, the Weyfarers, other businesses who aren’t in the town centre area but have still leant their support.”

She hopes now to put the BID’s business plan into action immediately, dividing up the town into zones, making sure the levy payers are happy, looking at funding proposals and helping people put their ‘wonderful’ ideas and schemes into practice.

Claudia added that the hard work to turn the town around has already begun.

“We’ve got the town centre manager now, everyone’s working together collaboratively and we have had so many people say in the last few months how good the town looks.

“We just have to keep building on that, and not slip back into bad habits.

“It’s time to brighten this town up.”

Ahead of the ballot, chairman Richard Lamb made a passionate plea for businesses to support the BID, acknowledging that lessons had been learnt. It campaigned on a pledge of openness and transparency.

Project director of Dorchester BID Phil Gordon congratulated his colleagues in Weymouth for their success.

He added: “I am genuinely delighted and thrilled for Claudia who has worked so hard to turn Weymouth BID around. She thoroughly deserves a fair crack at the whip.”

Dorchester BID will now run for its third term also until 2023.

Mr Gordon said the organisation will now look to continue to improve and develop its projects, as well as come up with new ideas.

“There is a lot more we could be doing and we will be announcing a new initiative over the next few months.”

He added: “This is a massive vote of support for BID here in Dorchester and I think a fair reflection of the effort and results that have been achieved in Dorchester over the last 10 years. It has only made possible with the support of the town’s business community, the whole team of volunteer board members, chairman John Fiori, our town ambassadors and most importantly my colleague and fellow BID teammate Lisa Cartwright.”