DARTMOUTH Business Improve­ment District’s board of directors is struggling to deliver the five-year business plan and needs help to meet promised commitments, it is claimed.

But it is vital the BID succeeds in order to ensure a proper investment in the future of Dartmouth, according to founder Paul Reach.

And the BID is not for changing the town, as some claim, but it does want make more people aware of how important it is for tourism and employment, he said.

Mr Reach, who is now chairman of the Dartmouth Business Forum, said nearly two years into the Dartmouth BID many people believed it was not delivering the benefits that were promised when businesses voted ‘yes’ in November 2013.

‘There are many reasons for this but, with the next board election coming up in less than two months, it is time for an honest appraisal of what you can do to help it succeed,’ he said. ‘As chairman of the business forum, I take my responsibility to the businesses of Dartmouth very seriously.

‘Against a background of declining footfall, I launched and led the BID project in 2012/13, supported by a team of 15 local business people.

‘BIDs have proven to be very effective at supporting the economy in 95 per cent of towns that adopt it.

‘As the problems of the TIC show, the BID may now be the only way there will be an investment in the future of this town. So Dartmouth cannot allow the BID to fail – or the opportunity will be lost.’

Mr Reach said he believed the business plan was deliverable.

‘Nearly all of the levy has been collected for the first two years, so the only obstacle to success is that there are now only six board directors left to deliver it,’ he said.

‘They are trying hard to run their own businesses, are overloaded and attempts to recruit more directors have failed.

‘I believe there are business people in Dartmouth with the right skills and commitment to help deliver the objectives, and I urge them to stand up now and apply for membership of the board of directors.’

Mr Reach said he expected the board to recruit a new manager once the 2016 board was established. ‘But if the number of directors is less than eight, instead of the 12 necessary, it will again struggle in 2016.

He said the success of the BID was in the hands of those businesses who supported its aims and objectives, and were still the majority in the town, according to a forum survey in 2015.

Mr Reach said, like last year, he intended to stand for election to the board in March.

He called on the BID board to help encourage applications by doing the following:

* Please publish the details of how the board election will be carried out. Last year’s election was flawed and too few board members were elected.

* Please inform levy payers what you have achieved during 2015. The financial accounts don’t tell us anything useful.

* Please inform levy payers your plans for 2016/17 year so we know what we are expected to achieve and what challenges we face if we are elected to the Board.

* Please give more time and attention to those that support the BID than those who oppose it.

Delivering the BID business plan is an exciting challenge. Success will have a positive effect on every business in town directly or indirectly. The opposition voices in Dartmouth are very loud so the BID needs to shout louder with positive news to drown them out.