BUSINESSES in York are to be asked whether they would be willing to pay to improve the city centre. In a ballot next September they will be asked to agree to pay an extra one per cent on their business rates.

That would raise £750,000 a year to pay for Christmas lights, to market the city, to improve street cleaning – and to help tackle problems like drunkenness and antisocial behaviour.

The idea is the brainchild of City Team York, which wants the city centre to become a Business Improvement District.

City Team York chairman Adam Sinclair said the city centre was the jewel in York’s crown. But it faced the same challenges as other high streets, he said – from the rise of online shopping to the challenge of looking after a historic city centre.

“As businesses... we all stand to benefit from a thriving city centre, but we also stand to lose if we do not take action to support its performance in future,” he said.

The idea has been supported by the York Retail Forum.

“It’s a great idea,” said chairman Frank Wood. “Businesses will have the opportunity to say what they want to happen, and will be able to raise the funds themselves to make those things happen.”

Not every city centre business is likely to welcome the scheme.

But the idea surely makes sense. A cleaner, better managed city centre would attract more visitors, so would benefit businesses in the long run. And by pitching in to help to pay for it, they would have the right to decide among themselves how the extra money was to be spent.

It seems like a case of win all around.