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High street struggling after 'crazy' rise in rates

Emma Simpson
BBC News
Lilly-Mae Messenger
BBC News, West of England
BBC A headshot of Richard Dare. He is wearing a brown suede jacket, a cream jumper and a black shirt. He is looking at the camera and has a black beard and dark hair.BBC
Richard Dare runs James of Montpelier and will see his rates more than double

Small businesses on one high street in Cheltenham have spoken about their struggles after "eye-watering" increases to business rates were brought in.

Some businesses in Montpelier, which is full of independent and family-run firms, said they had seen their rates more than double.

The burden of these rates was previously cushioned by the pandemic but the relief was being wound down and the cost of being on the high street was going up, the business owners said.

The government said the current relief was unsustainable but it promised reform to help smaller firms with a permanently lower tax next year.

David Burgess is smiling at the camera. He has glasses with black rims and is wearing a black polo shirt with writing on the left side which reads 'Contour'.
David Burgess runs a kitchen business with his wife

"The numbers are eye watering," said David Burgess, who runs Contour Kitchens in Montpelier.

"Last year's bill was £3,837, this year it's £11,452."

He described the increased rates as "a kick in the teeth" and said they would make running the business "very difficult".

The Paragon Gallery owner Eleanor Wardle said the rates would put unnecessary pressure on business owners.

"This is a time when we should be working hard to improve the high street for the future," she said.

Last year her rates were £3,385. Next month they will increase to more than £10,000.

Richard Dare, who runs men's clothing store James of Montpelier, is currently paying £8,188.

Soon he will be charged £21,145 in business rates.

"Where do you get that money from?" he said. "It's absolutely crazy, it's scary really."

He said he could no longer pay for an extra member of staff and he could no longer afford to invest back into his business.

'Permanently lower rates'

Business rates expert John Webber said he had never seen business bills go up by such large amounts.

"What the government are trying to do is create permanently lower rates bills for the high street," he said.

He said the government would introduce this from April next year.

"I just hope these small retailers survive the next 12 months to see these permanently lower bills when they do materialise," he added.

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