Businesses in Sutton have voted in favour of creating a Business Improvement District (BID) in the town centre.

The Sutton BID is a business led and business funded initiative to help Sutton Town Centre by encouraging people to come there to shop and invest in new businesses.

Forty per cent of businesses in the catchment area turned out for the vote yesterday, with a total of 127 businesses voting in favour and 62 against.

A pool of money gathered from contributions by businesses will now be used to fund improvements to the town centre.

These could include extra lighting, deep-cleans and more visible policing.

It is estimated around £2m will be spent on improvements over the next five years as a result.

The website for Successful Sutton, the steering group of town centre businesses pushing for the Sutton BID, states: "The point of the Sutton BID is to bring all the businesses in Sutton High Street together to help improve their offer to customers and employees.

"By pooling resources, businesses have the ability to make a significant and lasting change to the area, making it a pleasant, welcoming and attractive place for people to shop and work. This in turn leads to higher footfall, happier employees and ultimately greater profits for all businesses involved."

The BID is funded by a small levy, for example one per cent of the rateable value, on eligible businesses located within the BID area.

The levy would be applied to businesses with a rateable value over £10,000. It would look to invest up to £2m over a five year term.

A first Sutton BID was narrowly rejected in March last year. BIDs have already been set up in Kingston and Croydon.