Businesses on Plymouth's waterfront will in future pay a levy for a greater say on how the area is run.

Firms have voted yes in a ballot on whether to become a business improvement district.

Fifty nine per cent of firms voted, with seventy per cent of those saying they were in favour.

The team behind the BID have pledged to employ a waterfront caretaker and create more maritime events.

It now unlocks millions of pounds of city council match funding, which the authority had said would be unavailable if businesses voted no.

Dissenters had argued it was just another tax on them and that it wouldn't bring value for money.