A scheme to unite and promote Dartmouth's business community has been hit by a barrage of angry protests over demands for funding. The Dartmouth Business Improvement District scheme is believed to have received more than 50 emails of complaint this week after levy letters were sent out by South Hams Council on its behalf. As invoices landed on doormats for the first time, many people are claiming 'we never signed up for this'. The majority are being asked to find an extra £150 a year on top of their business rates to support the BID. But some property owners are facing bills running into several hundreds – and possibly thousands – of pounds. Those working from home, holiday chalet owners and charter boat operators with a ticket office are all among those liable to pay. Even the Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Committee has been hit with a bill for its kiosk at Coronation Park. Some businesses who did not vote for the scheme say they cannot afford it and will be withholding the money. But Dartmouth Bus-iness Forum chairman Paul Reach, who was one of the key players behind the formation of the BID, said the scheme had been voted in democratically and every business had to make a contribution. There could be no 'free rides'. He said businesses were legally bound to pay the levy, but he understood how some might find it difficult to appreciate what the benefits might be in the early stages. He said he had no doubt that Dartmouth would benefit greatly from the BID and urged everyone to give it a chance. Town councillor Dave Cawley, who runs a business from home exporting hi-fi systems, said: 'My business voted against the BID, as a town councillor I voted against it, as did the mayor of the time. So why do I have to pay a private limited company £150 for no services? 'I do not have a shop and in monetary terms most of what I sell goes out of the country. 'My business is small and although business rated, we are exempt like a lot of Dartmouth businesses.

For the full story see this week's Dartmouth Chronicle