THE CHRISTCHURCH BID Steering Group have taken the decision to postpone the planned ballot in March 2021 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Work on the development of a BID proposal for Christchurch was suspended in March and, in August, Christchurch town BID published their 'priority projects' following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

However, as the steering group are not able to host consultations and face-to-face meetings, they have revealed that the date for the vote on the town’s BID proposal will be pushed back further than the revised dates of Tuesday March 2 until Tuesday March 30, 2021.

Chair of the Christchurch BID steering committee Lucy Filer said: “The Christchurch BID Steering Group met last week and have decided that, as a result of the ongoing health and economic uncertainties, we will be pushing the planned BID ballot further into 2021.

“Whilst a revised ballot date has not yet been set, it is very likely that the planned March ballot date will be delayed by a period of at least three months to give businesses and us a chance to really assess the local economic climate and the matters facing us all.

“This was a really frustrating decision to have to make as we have made such good headway with our plans, but it is the right one.

“We remain committed to enacting significant improvements to Christchurch town centre and will, of course, be keeping all parties updated with further details.”