Hosted by Liverpool BID Company, the session provided a crucial platform to discuss the Government’s proposed changes and put forward policy recommendations which will support growth and protect flagship high streets.
Larger retail, hospitality, leisure and professional services businesses are not just occupiers of prime city centre properties, they are major employers, footfall drivers, and anchors for local economies. Yet, the Chancellor’s proposal to increase the business rates multiplier for properties with a rateable value over £500,000 risks pushing these critical locations to the brink.
High Streets UK is calling on the Government to take urgent action to avoid unintended consequences such as store closures and job losses.
Our productive session resulted in the following milestones:
- Developed a list of policy recommendations for the Treasury.
- Shared an Open Letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, outlining our key concerns and requests
- Conducted a survey with businesses on rising operational costs and the potential impact of the proposed business rates reform
- Published an impact analysis on business rates, initially covered by The Times and further explored in an op-ed by our Chair, Dee Corsi, in Drapers
- Submitted evidence to the Government’s Business Rates Discussion Paper
Make sure to sign up to High Streets UK’s quarterly newsletter via our homepage to stay up to date with what we’ve done and what’s next.
