BUSINESS owners in Helensburgh have been invited to a public meeting in the town to consider setting up a business improvement district (BID) in the Burgh.

The meeting will be held at the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre on Wednesday, January 24 at 7pm.

A business improvement district is a defined area in which a levy is charged on all business rate payers in addition to the business rates bill, with the money raised used on something which will benefit businesses - in addition to services provided by councils.

The invitation states: “You may be aware that over the past few years there has been a number a number of attempts to test the appetite of the Helensburgh business community for the establishment of a BID Area.

"However, these attempts have never gone much further than a few initial inquiries and have generally fallen at the first hurdle.

“In order to get that answer for once and for all a small group of business people have applied for a grant to undertake a full investigation by a professional firm which can be used to establish whether there is a case for trying to set up a BID in Helensburgh.

"We are holding a public meeting to provide some additional information about BIDS and how the study will work.

"All local businesses are welcome and it is hoped you will attend."

The Argyll and Bute area already has two BIDs, in Oban and Dunoon.

The Helensburgh meeting will be addressed by Phil Prentice, chief officer of the Scotland's Towns Partnership, and Andrew Spence, the Oban BID manager.