Richmond upon Thames Council's Finance, Policy and Resources Committee has added the development of an Accommodation Business Improvement District (BID) to its work programme, aiming to fully understand what proposal would work most effectively for the borough.
The committee, which met on Thursday, 12 February 2026, scheduled the item for future consideration. The development of the Accommodation BID is likely to be discussed at a meeting in June, with an update expected on 22 June 2026, as indicated in the Committee Work Programme [https://cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/documents/s500019564/Committee%20Work%20Programme.pdf].
The council proposes to push ahead with the second phase of work that will crystallise local priorities into a formal ABID Business Plan.
This initiative has gained further interest following the Budget 2025 announcement to consult on a Visitor Levy,
which has prompted consideration of how the borough's visitor sector should respond.
Development work is currently consulting with accommodation providers regarding the Accommodation BID. If sector organisations wish to proceed to a BID ballot, they will need to notify the Council and the Secretary of State. This decision will then be brought to the Committee for approval in the usual manner.
The committee's agenda for the 12 February 2026 meeting can be found in the Public reports pack [https://cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/documents/g500000589/Public%20reports%20pack%20Thursday%2012-Feb-2026%2019.00%20Finance%20Policy%20and%20Resources%20Committee.pdf?T=10].
