Silverdale is getting down to business with the establishment of a new Business Improvement District (BID) approved by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board.

BIDs are areas within Auckland where local businesses and property owners have agreed to work together, with support from the council, to improve their business environment and attract new businesses and customers.

They are funded by a targeted rate.

The move follows a successful ballot of businesses in the Silverdale area, with the BID to represent 1094 businesses.

The bid proposal was included as part of the annual budget consultation, but no feedback was received.

The new BID includes Silverdale Village, Silverdale Centre, Silverdale Industrial Area, and businesses at the entrance to Silverdale, Highgate and Millwater.

Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Chair, Gary Brown, says the Silverdale Business Association has put in years of hard work to secure support for a BID.

“We believe that their hard work and efforts will pay off with collective opportunities for businesses in Silverdale to make the area into a destination of choice.

“Our aim is for a targeted rate set at a level which provides a service to them and which brings a boost in terms of revenue and attracts new business and customers.”

Auckland Council’s Governing Body will set the targeted rate in the Annual Budget for the Silverdale Business Improvement District, with the board recommending a flat rate of $400 plus GST per rateable property, equating to a BID targeted rate grant of $500,000.

The board has also recommended the Governing Body set targeted rates in the Annual Budget for Business Improvement Districts in Browns Bay, Mairangi Bay, Ōrewa and Torbay.

The recommendation is for $160,000 for Torbay, $79,000 for Mairangi Bay, $290,681.55 for Ōrewa and $19,283.25 for Torbay.