Tipperary County Council approves Clonmel BID
Clonmel’s Business Improvement District has been formally approved by Tipperary County Council, clearing the final step in a process that began with a group of local business owners and ended with a ballot of the town’s ratepayers.
The approval follows a successful vote among businesses within the BID boundary and confirms Clonmel BID as a legally constituted company under the Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Act 2006. Tipperary County Council, as the rating authority, will now collect the BID levy on our behalf and pass it to the company to deliver the programme set out in the proposal document.
What it means in practice
Clonmel BID will run for five years, from 2026 to 2031, with an estimated annual budget of around €350,000. That money comes from a 5% levy on commercial rates, fixed for the full term, and will be topped up with grant and sponsorship income wherever we can secure it. Every euro raised in Clonmel stays in Clonmel and is spent on the town centre.
The programme is built around five areas: destination marketing and events, placemaking and public areas, tourism and cultural development, the night-time economy and safety, and business support and innovation. The largest single allocation goes to marketing and events, because footfall is the measure that matters most to the businesses funding this.
Who runs it
The BID is governed by a board of levy-paying businesses, with two-thirds of directors drawn from ratepayers in the district and representation from both the elected council and the Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council. Any business paying the levy is eligible to sit on the board. The company will publish an annual report covering activity, finances and results, and accounts will be audited each year.
What happens next
Levy notices will issue from Tipperary County Council in the coming weeks. Before that, the first visible activity will be this winter: a Christmas programme for the town centre and a real ice rink at Market Place. Details of both will be announced shortly on this site and through our social channels.
Council approval is a formality in one sense and a milestone in another. It is the point at which Clonmel’s businesses stop asking for investment in the town centre and start directing it themselves. If you are a levy payer and want to be involved, or simply want to know more about what is planned, get in touch.