Weston BID: Five more years of levies, but just £13.48 an hour for street wardens

Businesses in Weston Town Centre have voted overwhelmingly to continue with the Weston BID levy scheme for a further 5yrs which funds the Street Wardens who are now recruiting for new staff: paying a mere £13.48ph.

The Weston Business Improvement District (BID) has been in operation since 2012 and is delivered through Weston Town Centre Partnership Ltd, which is a non-profit organisation.

The BID area covers Weston Town Centre and works with around 400 voting levy payers.

Businesses with a rateable value of £7,500 and over within the defined area pay, 1.5% levy based on their rateable value.

The levy funds street wardens alongside targeted marketing, business support, and partnership-led events helped to the sustain town centre.

The advertisement for vacant roles describes the duties and responsibilities as including working with front line civilian staff and assisting the Police and North Somerset Council with projects and operations.

The role also requires staff to operate patrols including weekends, 364 years days of the year and be the “eyes and ears of the Weston Business Crime Reduction Partnership”.

Applicants would also be required to deal with ”problem and nuisance individuals” including those that may be drunk, and be able to perform first aid, record incidents witnessed and encountered on patrol and assist with the detection of crime including the “apprehension of offenders when necessary”

According to the Living Wage Foundation, the current UK-wide real Living Wage is £14.10 per hour, a rate of pay “independently calculated and rooted in living costs which enables workers to achieve stability and security.”

In contrast, a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), would earn a starting salary of around £34,000 per year, once shift allowance and weekend enhancements were factored in, equating to an hourly wage of approximately £17.50 per hour.

In 2021, Weston Town Council passed a motion to become a Real Living Wage employer, and whilst Weston Town Centre Partnership Ltd is a seperate entity from Weston Town Council, however a number of local councillors sit as directors including Cllr Mark Canniford, Cllr Robert Payne, Cllr Alan Peak and Cllr Mike Solomon.