Businesses have said yes to a town-wide regeneration project which could see more than £1m pumped into boosting Dartmouth's economy over the next five years.

Hundreds of businesses have voted to shell out higher business rates to fund the £200,000 a year it is planned to partly spend on marketing Dartmouth to the rest of the world.

The successful vote was the culmination of 15 months of work consulting with the town's business community over the Business Improvement District proposals.

Business Forum chairman Paul Reach was this week delighted with the decision to back the BID bid.

He added: 'We now have to deliver on the business plan.'

He said it was now planned to launch a BID company to manage the cash in February or March next year.

Before then, the process to select a major national marketing agency to represent the town will begin in the next few weeks.

'If we pick the right one, it will be one of the best in the country – one that is experienced at looking at towns and coming up with the right brand image and its key selling points that will cut across everything that we do and make people aware of what we have got here.'

News of the yes vote was announced last Friday to local businessmen and women at the Flavel in Dartmouth.

Around 200 businesses voted, which represented around 34 per cent of those entitled to take part in the poll which was run by the Electoral Reform Services.

The poll by vote alone came out at 62 per cent in favour.

A second vote based on 'majority by rateable value' came in at 73 per cent saying yes.

Mr Reach said: 'I think it is brilliant, fantastic.

'Businesses are saying go ahead, we want to invest in our town and place our faith in the BID company to do that.'

Part of the build up to the vote was the publication of a five-year business plan spelling out how the cash would be spent.

Its number one priority involves marketing and promoting the town but the cash would also be spent on looking at car parking and access, business support and strategy and advocacy.

Mr Reach said that turnouts in other BID votes up and down the country came out at between 30 and 45 per cent

He said he had been 'quietly confident' of a yes vote as he explained: 'The majority of business people I met in the street were very positive and asking why would anyone vote against.

'I think that for some people, where the levy might involve a more significant sum, they were thinking hard about it and some would have voted no.'

He added: 'The real work starts now in delivering the new initiatives and the team aim to get started immediately in forming the new BID company and adding in the extra value to our town.'

Both South Hams Council and Dartmouth Town Council added their yes votes to the poll.

Mayor of Dartmouth Paul Allen said after the yes announcement: 'The council will do everything it can to help the scheme to benefit the whole community.

'Members look forward to supporting innovative business initiatives and their successful integration with the town's social aspirations, so that everyone, whether resident or visiting, can feel they are involved as both supporters and beneficiaries.

'The council is conscious, as owner itself of a number of business premises, that parts of the business community will make a considerable financial outlay to fund this important BID project.

'It is an imaginative scheme that has every chance of marking a major turning point in Dartmouth's commercial future.'