Parking ‘mayhem’ top priority for Oswestry BID team
Tackling parking 'mayhem' on an industrial estate could be one of the first actions taken by a business support team.
Oswestry Business Improvement District said it wants better signage and improved transport links in the town.
Companies on the Maesbury Road industrial estate have been among the first to discuss how Oswestry having BID status could bring benefits.
The town's businesses voted to become a BID town in April, with those of a certain size having to pay a levy on their rates to fund the scheme.
A volunteer board organised meetings on the industrial estate, in the town centre and at Park Hall to hear the main issues affecting business.
Ian Follington from the BID team said the first meeting for those on the industrial estate had been very productive.
He said: "It seems that there are some relatively easy changes that could be done to make a real difference there.
"Companies were telling us that the parking there is mayhem. That is something that could be reasonably quickly sorted out.
"Also that signage is poor or non-existent. Getting rid of the individual signs that are hanging on fences or on the side of the road and replacing them with really good, collective signage would make a huge improvement to the area."
He said people at the meeting also complained about poor public transport, with no buses that tied in with shift patterns.
Mr Follington said that Oswestry BID was now looking at recruiting a full-time manager to take the organisation forward after two years of work by a volunteer board.
"We have come a long way with volunteers giving up many hours of their time to Oswestry BID. The time has come to get a full-time manager."
The vote for Oswestry to become a BID town has secured £1.5 million of funding.
More than 70 per cent of votes cast by the businesses in Oswestry voted in favour of the BID.
It means businesses within the BID area whose rateable value is £12,000 or more will have to pay a 1.75 per cent levy on the rates over the next five years.
That money, along with any more that can be levered in, will be used to help the economy of the town and attract people to visit, live, work and shop in Oswestry.
