Bilston BID could generate half a million pounds
Council bosses have approved a scheme that could generate £500,000 for Bilston over a five year period.
Bosses said that they hope the Bilston Business Improvement District (BID) project will mirror the success the same project had in Wolverhampton city centre.
The BID involves getting business leaders in the town working together to improve it, in the hope that will attract more people.
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the council agreed it would support plans to enter into a BID ballot on behalf of Bilston, with a decision to be made on whether it has been successful in the summer.
If it goes through then £40,000 has been earmarked for the project in August.
Councillor Peter Bilson, the citys economy boss, said: "This is good news for people and businesses in Bilston.
"It follows on from the huge success we have had in Wolverhampton and we will work on this in a similar way to how we did for our city centre.
"If we are successful in making Bilston a Business Improvement District, it will result in a £500,000 investment over five years into the town.
"The people who run businesses in Bilston will have a stronger influence on what they want to see in their town centre, which will be great for local people too."
The Robin 2 Club, the Sir Henry Newbolt Wetherspoon pub, Jennings Funeral Directors and Bilston Motor Spares are among the businesses involved in Bilstons plans.
They have formed a task group which also includes CeX, Cafe Metro, Coffee Express and Wolverhampton Homes.
Town centre marketing, parking, more CCTV and cleaner streets are among the group's main priorities.
Decisions will be made by task group members, who have been in discussions since October last year.
The Wolverhampton BID became the first in the Black Country when it was launched last month.
Should the project be given the green light, it will be another boost for Bilston, after work to create a 500 home development as part of the £176m Bilston Urban Village project recently got underway.
Once completed the site, located to the south of the Bert Williams leisure centre and Black Country Route, will include extensive areas of open space, footpaths and a water feature – while new food and drink outlets are set to be built opposite the leisure centre on Nettlefolds Way as part of plans to regenerate the town and Wolverhampton as a whole.
