Businesses in Bury St Edmunds have backed an organisation which provides them with services and support, and even organises events such as the town’s Christmas lights switch on.

A total of 83% who took part in the ballot to give Ourburystedmunds Business Improvement District (BID) another five years voted ‘yes’.

Chairman of the BID’s board of directors, Andrew Speed, said: “This is excellent news for Bury St Edmunds and I’d like to thank the businesses in the town centre for this show of support.

“The BID is run by a small team who have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to increase footfall, run some excellent events and work with partner agencies on issues such as parking and safety.”

Chief Executive of Ourburystedmunds, Mark Cordell, added: “This fantastic result means that we can now build upon the achievements of the first term of the BID and achieve even more for the town and our businesses by working collaboratively with other key stakeholders.

“Recently we have seen Bury St Edmunds doing comparatively well against other towns with increased numbers of people coming here, which has been very good for business. The BID will continue to work to carry this momentum forward because there is no room for complacency as prosperity in the town increases.”

Just over 400 businesses in the town centre were eligible to vote in the ballot. Turnout in the ballot was 40%.