I was one of the 12,000 who turned out for Newbury Carnival yesterday, and was wondering if shopkeepers are happy to pay an extra tax to generate extra footfall when so much is generated for free through Crafty Craft/carnival/ale fest/Hennessy etc.

And can anyone think of anything that needs doing to improve the look of the town? Veolia are pretty good at keeping our cobbled streets clean, and there's benches and bins galore. I am struggling to think of anything meaningful the BID cash will add?

Maybe it could be used to subsidise business rates for independent shops to 'balance' the handouts given out on Park Way.