High street review calls for levy and 2015 business rates revaluation
That’s the recommendations impacting pubs in ‘The Grimsey Review – An Alternative Future for the High Street’.
For “better-managed high streets” the report suggests a compulsory one-off levy for national retail and leisure chains to invest 0.25% of one year’s sales (2014).
It said that this would go “into a local economic development fund to sponsor local start-up businesses in a similar way to the Prince’s Trust”.
Business rates
On business rates, the report called for the 2015 business rates revaluation to be reintroduced immediately “to realign property values and freeze business rates from 2014”.
Plans to postpone the revaluation was announced by pubs minister Brandon Lewis in October last year.
The report added: “Once revaluations have taken place any future increases should be an annualised CPI rate rather than a one-month snapshot.
“From 2017 revaluations must be conducted annually.
“Any business occupying a retail property in the retail core of a town centre that has been vacant for 12 months should receive 50% rate relief for two years.
“The business rates system needs a root and branch review to establish a flexible system that will reflect changes in economic conditions as they occur.”
Huge issue
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) questioned the need for a levy. Chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: “There is already huge scope to develop voluntary, business-funded partnerships, such as Business Improvements Districts. These have made a real difference in managing and investing in town centres and local businesses can see the benefit on their own doorsteps.”
On business rates, Simmonds added: “Business rates are a huge issue for pubs, which now account for well over 10% of a pub’s operating costs. BBPA is calling for changes to the rating system to enable pubs to trigger revaluations when their turnover is significantly reduced.
“We would also like to see small business rate relief extended this year. It is already worth £15 million a year to the pub industry and could offer so much more help to small community pubs and we’d like to see a nationwide take-up campaign urging local authorities to offer rural rate relief to pubs in remote villages.”
Portas Review
The report follows the Mary Portas High Street Review, which was released at the end of 2011. The Government promised to review the use of annual RPI uplift for business rates. It also said that Business Improvement Districts will receive a £500,000 fund to help with set-up costs.
However, Bill Grimsey, who penned The Grimsey Review and has 45 years’ experience in the retail sector, hit out at the Portas review.
“It was clear to me that Portas had failed to highlight to Government the dramatic structural changes impacting the retail industry through the convergence of changing consumer behaviour driven by technology and that brought about by the prevailing economic conditions,” he wrote in the foreword of his report.
