RHYL businesses are set to "take control" of more than £1 million that could be invested into the town centre's future development.

Business leaders in the town centre have made their voices heard and voted in favour of setting up a Business Improvement District (BID), which will be chaired by the owner of High Street business Chrome Menswear, and the Jean Emporium on Sussex Street, Nadeem Ahmad.

It is anticipated the BID will commence from early 2019 for a five year term and will invest more than £1million on projects related to safety, appearance, marketing and business support.

Mr Ahmad said: “This is a great result for Rhyl town centre and I would like thank those involved in bringing it about.

“Businesses have voted to take control in making sure Rhyl has the best chance to thrive and prosper. There has been some major investment already and more to come and we hope to ensure businesses play their part in shaping and taking advantage of this.”

The Rhyl BID has been developed and will be run by businesses as a not-for-profit social enterprise to help bring more shoppers into the area.

There is no limit on what projects or services can be provided through a BID, the only constraint is that it should be in addition to services provided by the local authority.

Voting in the ballot was conducted by the independent scrutineer, Electoral Reform Services, with 67 percent of respondents voting in favour of the Rhyl BID.

For the BID to be successful, a second trigger ‘majority by rateable value’ was also required and this was achieved with 63 percent of the vote.

Mo Aswat, Director of The Mosaic Partnership, who advised on the development of the BID, said: “BIDs are becoming an increasingly important part of addressing the challenges facing town centres in Wales and I think it is great news for Rhyl in that businesses have had the foresight to work together and take this step.”

Cllr Hugh Evans, leader of Denbighshire County Council, said: “We are pleased for the opportunity this creates for the Council to work with committed businesses on the future improvement of the town centre.

“Along with the investment the council making in the town through SC2 and 1891, as well as the work on the Rhyl Masterplan, we believe Rhyl BID will be yet another catalyst for the town’s ongoing regeneration.”

More information and business plans are available at rhylbid.co.uk.