The findings, released by UKHospitality (UKH) during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Monday 29 September, showed almost half of Brits believed their local high street was worse than it was a year ago.
UKH chief executive Allen Simpson described the statistic as “worrying,” adding it was “no coincidence” that people perceived high streets in decline while hospitality businesses were being “taxed out.”
“Relentless tax and cost increases are forcing high street and community businesses to use all their available cash to pay the bills. They simply don’t have the means to invest and grow, which impacts us all,” Simpson said.
He singled out the business rates system as a major barrier to high street regeneration.
Left behind
“Bricks and mortar businesses, like our pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafes, have for decades paid far more than their fair share and it’s time to level the playing field,” the chief executive said.
Produced by CGA by NIQ in partnership with technology provider Zonal, the survey of 5,000 consumers further highlighted growing concern for suburban and rural high streets.
Some 55% of suburban residents and 48% of rural residents felt their high street had worsened over the past year. In contrast, just 19% of the 5,000 consumers surveyed felt the same in city centres.
The survey also found 74% of the public believed hospitality needed and deserved more Government support.
UKH said the results underlined that communities outside large cities felt “left behind” and urged the Chancellor to introduce measures in the Budget on November 26 to revive and regenerate high streets.
It called for the maximum possible business rates discount for all hospitality properties under £500,000 rateable value, alongside a zero-rate surcharge for properties above that threshold, arguing this would level the playing field, reduce costs, and remove barriers to investment.
Wake-up call
Simpson welcomed the Government’s commitment to reform business rates but stressed action was needed urgently: “I hope these figures act as a wake-up call and we get serious about supporting hospitality to regenerate and improve our high streets. The potential is there, but the Government needs to stop the sector being taxed out first.”
Ahead of the Labour Party conference Reeves appeared on BBC Breakfast, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to delivering business rates reform.
After being warned a third of pubs were at risk of closure without targeted support, Reeves said: “At the Budget last year we said we were going to fundamentally reform the business rates system so it’s not stacked against high street businesses in the retail and hospitality sector.
“We’ve been consulting over the last year with lots of businesses, including pubs, and we’ll be setting out details of the business rates reform, which is about supporting businesses that operate on our high streets.”
She added: “I said in the general election that I wanted the big multinationals, the online giants, to pay a higher share to give a break to high street businesses and businesses that operate out of our local communities, like pubs, like the hospitality sector.
“We’ll set out the detail of that in the Budget, but we’ve worked hand in glove with those sectors this last year to develop a plan and a new business rate system that actually works for the high streets, including our local pubs.”
