Brief History of the BID

In November 2007 several interested parties from local business and other organisations discussed the potential benefits of bringing a Business Improvement District to Boston with a view to tackling various issues that it was felt were hampering the development of business within the town.
A lengthy consultation process followed with a great deal of information being disseminated by way of open meetings, mail shots, questionnaires and visits to every business premises likely to be affected by the implementation of a Business Improvement District. The consultation process ended in October 2008 when a postal ballot, run by the Electoral Reform Service, was undertaken.

The ballot was successful and in December 2008 Boston BID came into being.

The Company

A new company was formed to operate the Business Improvement District. The company was incorporated on 29th January 2009 under the name of Boston BID Limited. The company is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales with registration number 6805381. The registered office is at Commerce House, Outer Circle Road, Lincoln, LN2 4HY and the trading address is Boston Business Centre, Norfolk Street, Boston, Lincs. PE21 9HH.

The authorised share capital of the company is 1,000 shares of £1.00 and is split into 3 classes of shares:
900 A Shares of £1.00, these are known as member’s shares and every business in the BID area receives a share certificate to acknowledge their membership. Payment for the share is taken from the first £1.00 paid via the statutory BID levy. This type of share can only vote on members directors being appointed to the board of directors.
50 B Shares of £1.00, these are known as founder shares and are distributed to founder members. Founder members may also be ordinary members. This type of share can only vote on founder’s representatives being appointed to the board of directors. 
50 C Shares of £1.00. These shares have all the voting rights of the company and at present the only C share issued is to Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Founder Members

The following businesses and organisations are founder members of Boston BID Ltd:
·    Boston Parish Church (The Stump)
·    Lincolnshire Police
·    Lincolnshire Co-operative Society
·    Boston Borough Council
·    Oldrid & Co Ltd

The Board of Directors

The board of directors has representation from members and founder members and Lincolnshire Chamber. The maximum number of directors allowed is 12 and currently there are 10 serving directors. The current directors reading from left to right are as follows:
·    Martin Puttick – Lincolnshire Co-op – Founder
·    Kevan Mugleston – South Lincs CVS – Member
·    Steve Goulder – Oldrids – Founder
·    Martyn Taylor – Meteor Parking – Member
·    Ian Martin – Boston Borough Council – Founder
·    Dennis Bambridge – Bambridges – Member – (Chairman of the Board)
·    Terry Ball – Lincolnshire Police – Founder – [Terry has since left Boston and has resigned as a director]
·    Judith Meaows – Simply Yours – Member – [Judith has also resigned as a director]
·    David Cubberly – Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce
·    Roger Bell – Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce
·    Jenny Brewster – Timothy Guy – Member
·    Peter Coleman – Boston Stump – Founder [Peter was absent when the board photo was taken]

The board of directors are all volunteers and take no remuneration from Boston BID Ltd.

Aims and Objectives

The aims of Boston BID ltd are given in detail on the Our Aims page but in brief Boston BID Ltd is working to a 5 year business plan which was the subject of the original ballot and was prepared after consultation with all interested parties.

The BID Manager

On 15th December 2009 the board appointed Niall Armstrong as the BID Manager for Boston. Niall has spent 32 years working for a major High Street bank as a Business Relationship manager, mainly in Lincolnshire. During his career he spent 8 years working in Boston from 1987 to 1995 and he committed to ensuring that the Business Improvement District is not only successful but provides value for money to the BID members .