THE votes are being counted today in a ballot on whether Poole should be promoted by a business improvement district (BID).

Eligible businesses had until yesterday to return their ballot papers and the result is expected by around lunchtime.

A “yes” vote would establish an independent Poole Business Improvement District (BID), paid for by a 1.5 per cent levy on the rateable value of businesses in the BID area.

The affected area includes the Quay, High Street, Dolphin Shopping Centre and adjacent streets.

The levy would raise around £330,000 for each of the BID’s initial five years.

Projects in the BID proposal include:

* a five-year investment of more than £500,000 in marketing and events, with free WI-Fi in the BID area

* £550,000 on the “Poole experience”, including improving specific areas and brightening up empty shops

* £125,00 on security and safety

* £37,400 on supporting business, including the use of collective buying power to save money on businesses’ utility bills.

Traders are being asked to follow the example of Bournemouth, which has one BID for its town centre and another for its coastal districts, and Wimborne, where the BID is coming to the end of its first five-year term and seeking a mandate for a second.