THERE’S no denying the retail fortunes of Hexham, like many market towns, are in need of a boost.

Empty buildings on key sites, car parking struggles and declining footfall due to competition with online shopping are all challenges independent retailers come up against daily.

But with the future of the town’s Business Improvement District (BID) still hanging in the balance, it remains unclear what, if anything, will be put in place to help build a vision for the future.

BIDs are designed to collect a levy from businesses in a defined geographic area, which is then invested collectively in local improvements additional to those provided by local government.

However, from the validity of the introductory ballot being questioned to traders being hauled in front of the courts for not paying the levy in protest, the initiative seems to have bounced from one battleground to the next in Hexham.

Retail consultant Graham Soult, of CannyInsights.com, acknowledged that the reception to the initiative in Hexham had been a frosty from the outset.

“It’s quite rare that BIDs fail in such a spectacular fashion,” explained Graham, who is a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management (IPM) and spends his time working with retailers online and on the high street, as well as with landlords, local authorities, business associations and BIDs.

“I have known them to fizzle out after the first term, like in Darlington, and the danger there is that all of the things introduced to make the town more attractive to visitors could suddenly disappear.

“In general terms, the principle upon which BIDs are built is having the business community on board from the beginning. Sadly, in Hexham’s case, I don’t think that has ever been true.”

But as the 650 businesses within the BID boundary embark on a month-long consultation to determine whether the initiative should stay or go, Mr Soult thinks there could still be a chance to make it successful.

“In my opinion, the boundaries of the Hexham BID are far too broad, “ he said. “Looking back, it may well have been better to have selected a more focused area in the town centre to work with.

“My impression has been that many of those against the BID have businesses located on the outskirts.

“And it’s certainly true that other than general marketing and place promotion, which encourages more people to come to an area, businesses on the outskirts wouldn’t necessarily benefit as much from some of the more traditional initiatives launched by BIDs.”

BID levy payers and members in Hexham have until March 14 to make their feelings known about its future via an online consultation initiated by Northumberland County Council. A report on the consultation will be presented to a public meeting on March 26.

“If I was redrawing the BID area, I would certainly make it smaller and more focused on the town centre.

“Now that might mean it would be less ambitious, because there would be a smaller pot of money to work with. But it would mean you had a hard core of businesses who would perhaps be more likely to work together,” said Mr Soult.

He said a recent visit to Alloa in Scotland, which is a similar size to Hexham, had shown the idea could work.

“What is doesn’t have is the same tourist draw that Hexham can offer, but the BID there, which was drawn over a compact area of businesses, has won a lot of support,” he said.

“So much so, that it’s just completed its first five-year term and is moving on to the second.”

Recent research by the Institute of Place Management suggested the top factors which encourage visitors to an area were that it was considered safe, clean and attractive, he added.

“Often it’s about getting the basic housekeeping right, and that’s where the boundaries between the BID and a local authority can become a little blurred.

“But BIDs are designed to offer services which are better, as well as marketing and events programmes to increase footfall.”

He said the NE1 Newcastle BID’s “Alive After 5” campaign, which introduced free parking after 5pm, and a ramped up calendar of events spearheaded by Stockton BID had both been successful.

“Where retail is concerned, things tend to go in cycles, and I remember being interviewed four years or so ago about alarm bells ringing due to the number of empty shops on Fore Street.

“I’m not usually concerned about central units like that being empty because the interest in those has been proven with the likes of White Stuff and Costa moving in.

“But where sites on the edges of towns are left empty for a long time, there is an even bigger responsibility on the council or landlords to sort things out.

“In the context of M&S closing stores at the moment, it would be a shame to see any of the out of town offer in Hexham lost before the bus station redevelopment was completed, because a large part of that is about connecting the offering on the outskirts of the town to the town centre.

“Hexham is somewhere with huge potential so, whatever the business community decides, I hope the town can unite to make it work.”