Traders are threatening to leave Braintree if they are forced to pay “another business tax”.

Braintree Council last week signed off £85,000 to fund a pilot year of the controversial Business Improvement District scheme.

If passed, the initiative would force traders to pay 1.75% of their rateable value towards town centre improvements.

But so far traders have been unconvinced by the scheme, fearing too much of the cash would be spent on George Yard.

Dawn Kench, from Puddleducks cafe, said: “People are very reluctant to sign up to BID.

“Much on the investment in Braintree seems to go to George Yard, well, Braintree is not just George Yard.”

BID coordinators have spent the last 18 months trying to drum up support for the plans from more than 400 of the town’s businesses.

They require a simple majority ‘yes’ vote from traders representing over half of the town’s rateable value.

But Brenda Baker, from the BID committee admitted she was struggling to muster support for the scheme.

She said she needed to “show rather than tell” businesses the type of projects a BID would deliver.

To read full story see this week's Times.