The BID, what is it good for? Options

[dannyboy]

It seems to me that we are in agreement - everyone has a personal, self-interested view of 'what is best' for Newbury - unsurprisingly this leads to disagreements over what should or shouldn't be done.

Yes, but with a BID everyone is in it together & can take a vote on what course to take.....

[Simon Kirby]

It seems to me that we are in agreement - everyone has a personal, self-interested view of 'what is best' for Newbury - unsurprisingly this leads to disagreements over what should or shouldn't be done.

Well no, not really. To the extent that people have different outlooks, drives, and aspirations then yes, people will want different things, but that in itself doesn't create a disagreement. Normal rational people understand the need to compromise and cooperate and will often reach a consensus, and reasonable people also generally respect a democratic decision without disagreement if the process was fair and they were fully engaged.

That doesn't mean that we can't voice our disagreements with democratic decisions, because we can, that's all part of being free to express an opinion, but if there isn't confidence and engagement with the democratic process then that's a more serious business. It would be interesting to know whether the BID board still has the confidence of the businesses that elected it. The TCP was no great success and the BID will inevitably have inherited at least some of that baggage.