Wednesbury business levy blocked by Government after botched vote

Sandwell Council signed off on plans which would see businesses in Wednesbury pay a monthly fee towards improvements to the town centre.

But Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire intervened after some firms complained about a ballot over whether the scheme would go ahead.

He ruled that the vote – which finished 54-25 in favour of the BID on a 31 per cent turnout – was void and must be held again due to irregularities in administration.

Mr Brokenshire said the council contravened regulations by running a second ballot after the first one was cancelled over a breach of regulations.

However, bosses have vowed to get the scheme back up and running as soon as possible.

The first vote was held on July 24 last year, but the following month Darryl Magher, who was chair of Sandwell UKIP at the time, submitted an appeal on behalf of firms.

A report relating to the appeal notes that Sandwell Council had failed to correctly publish the notice of ballot by omitting the rateable values of the businesses voting.

Mr Magher then put forward a petition signed by 20 firms calling for the vote to be declared void.

They argued there was no formal consultation; that businesses were prevented or hindered from voting and given inaccurate information; there were errors with the geographical area of the BID; and that there was a change in the timetable of the ballot.

All but one of the complaints was thrown out, with Mr Brokenshire ruling that ‘it is likely that voting was affected to a significant extent’ by the council’s decision to rearrange the vote.

Mr Magher, who now represents For Britain, said: “Wednesbury has plenty of opportunities already and does not need a levy being set on business owners.”

Wednesbury councillor Peter Hughes, said: “The BID will be brilliant for the town centre and we are confident in our ability to get it through.”