Lambeth lines up its own votes for Vauxhall BID and leaves the proposal unpublished

Lambeth Council is due to order a ballot on a business improvement district whose proposal it has not published, and to vote its own properties in favour.

A business improvement district is paid for by a levy on properties in its area. Lambeth pays that levy on the properties it owns there, and it holds ballot papers for them.

The decision would delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Resources or Director of Finance "to complete the ballot papers to vote on behalf of the council in favour of the BID proposal with regards to Council owned properties in the BID area".

The Cabinet Member for Economy, Cost of Living and Empowered Communities is due to decide on 21 August. It would authorise a fourth-term ballot for Vauxhall One BID in November 2026, at an estimated £2,500.

The papers published with the decision are an officer report and an equality impact assessment. The BID's own proposal, which the council is being asked to consider, is not among them.

Lambeth published that document last time. Its 2021 Vauxhall One ballot decision came with a file titled "Vauxhall One - Renewal Proposal 2021v6", and its 2021 Station to Station decision came with a summary of that BID's proposed arrangements.

It has not done so since. The council's 2023 Brixton ballot decision carried only an officer report, and its 2023 South Bank decision carried an officer report and an equality impact assessment.

The £2,500 ballot cost is Lambeth's standard figure. The council put the Brixton ballot at £2,500 in August 2023 and the South Bank ballot at £2,500 in November 2023.

Earlier ballots cost more. Lambeth put the 2021 Vauxhall One re-ballot at £4,000, the same as the Station to Station re-ballot that July, and the 2016 Vauxhall One ballot at £3,750.

The council voted its properties in favour in 2016 as well. That record authorised the Strategic Director to complete the ballot paper in favour, and agreed the council's own BID levy of £28,618.20 for 2016/17. Neither the 2021 nor the 2026 record updates that figure.

The decision record states the council is "statutorily bound to consider the BID proposal and hold a ballot on the BIDs behalf". It gives two exceptions: where the proposal conflicts with adopted council policy, or where it is "likely to have a significantly disproportionate financial burden on any person or class of persons".

The issue record lists three wards: Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall. It classes the decision as key on community impact grounds.

The decision is subject to call-in, meaning councillors can refer it to a scrutiny committee for review before it takes effect. The register records no call-ins and shows it taking effect on 29 August.

The ballot is due in November 2026.