IF it were a person, Dartmouth Business Improvement District would be put in a home, according to town councillor David Gent.

He was speaking at this month's meeting of Dartmouth Town Council where the BID came in for a tough grilling over its finances and how it is being run.

Cllr Gent said: 'If the BID was a person you would say it was accident prone and put it in a home'.

Angry town councillors want answers on where the levy money is being spent and what is happening with the leadership of the organisation since manager Phil Scoble quit last month.

Many are concerned that early mistakes – particularly the mix-up over incorrect levy bills – will not be repeated and are seeking detailed information on where the £180,000 a year generated by the BID is going.

Afterwards BID chairman Nigel Way said: 'It was a 'great shame that the detractors chose to try and denigrate the BID again. I will happily attend meetings if required but I only have a certain amount of time.'

The town council owns seven properties that are billed under the BID scheme, costing business ratepayers £1,700 a year.

At Monday's meeting in the Guildhall, which is charged £500 a year by the BID, Cllr Francis Hawke said he was 'concerned' many business owners now felt themselves to have been overcharged due to the muddle over the levy.

'It leaves a bad taste in one's mouth,' he said. 'Not everyone was in favour of it and a lot are dead against it and have said they are not going to pay it.

'I think in the future the BID has to get its information correct before it goes out to the public.'

Town clerk Tracy Rowe said the BID had received one third of its rent back from the town council when it suddenly left its office at the Guildhall.

But Cllr Paul Allen questioned whether, as a matter of principal, the refund should have been given, no matter if it had been a verbal or written agreement.

'Now the BID has vacated its offices and the manager has gone, who is managing the project and from where?' he asked.

Cllr Roger Chilcott, the town council's representative on the BID board, said Simon Rushton, former business manager at Dartmouth Academy, had been brought in and it was undecided as to whether the job of project manager would become a split role.

He said Mr Rushton was working from home and some duties were being carried out at the TIC.

'The BID accepts that mistakes have been made and is working to ensure that it doesn't happen again,' he said.

Cllr Tessa de Galleani said 'people were upset' and she expressed concern that a 'higher body' did not oversee the BID's finances.

'There are no guarantees and you have a lot of public money here,' she said.

But Cllr Chilcott said it was a limited company and all accounts had to be audited.

Cllr Dave Cawley claimed the BID's business plan arbitrarily referred to various promotions.

'But it didn't explain what they wanted to do and it still doesn't,' he said. 'Can we have more precise information? People don't want to pay extra because they don't know what they get or are going to get.'

Cllr Cawley said the current advertising ­campaign seemed to be based on fashionable ­people, whereas the 'thrust of Dartmouth was its beauty' as a destination, he maintained.

Cllr Allen said a friend of his had seen one of the campaign posters on a London railway station and the only reference to Dartmouth was in a ­bottom corner.

Cllr Chilcott said the first year's budget had been set following a survey of all businesses in the town and the advertising campaign was aimed at bringing as many people as possible into Dartmouth.

Peter Bailey, chairman of Dartmouth Business Forum, told the meeting that he was getting ­positive feedback from traders who were anxious to put the BID troubles behind them.

'We are working together on a number of ­initiatives that I think will help,' he said.

'We have asked for a follow up question and answer session where detailed points could be asked of the BID's marketing and finance team,' he said.

Mayor Cllr Rob Lyon said: 'The town council would very much like the opportunity to question the BID on one or two aspects.'

Afterwards, Mr Way said: 'The BID is to ­facilitate things happening in Dartmouth, which

I think it already is, and just quietly getting on with it.

'We will be looking at using Simon at setting up CMS [a computerised management system] and he has been looking at systems of tendering for jobs that the BID may wish to place.

'I am not sure that there is a need for a full-time manager. We will be looking at how to get the most for the levy payers and I am sure the full board will decide on this.'