CAMBRIDGE NEIGHBOURHOOD SHOPS FACING BUSINESS RATES ‘HAMMER BLOW’ - LIB DEMS

New analysis by Lib Dem councillors shows businesses in neighbourhood shopping areas in Cambridge are being hit with rateable value increases of up to 46% and, with the removal of 40% relief, some businesses have been told their actual bills will quadruple in just two years.

Liberal Democrat councillors have tabled a motion at the City Council’s full council meeting on February 26thdemanding the Labour Government takes urgent action to protect Cambridge's neighbourhood shops from devastating business rates increases.

Councillor Jamie Dalzell, who represents West Chesterton ward and is proposing the motion, said:

"One business on Milton Road has been told their bills will rise from £2,700 in 2024 to £6,600 in 2025, with projections of £10,900 for 2026 – a 304% increase in just two years. This is happening to businesses across Milton Road, Chesterton Road, Cherry Hinton, Queen Edith's and Arbury.

"These aren't wealthy corporations – they're local cafés, shops and hairdressers providing essential services to our communities. When they're forced to raise prices or close, it's residents who can least afford it who suffer most.

"The Government has raised new revenue from high-value properties which could be used to support small businesses, but it has chosen not to. The Federation of Small Businesses warns we face 'three years of business rates misery' with a 52% average hike in bills – this is a tax timebomb threatening our high streets."

The Lib Dems’ city council motion calls on the Government to provide relief equivalent to the previous 40% support levels, and to replace business rates with a fairer Commercial Landowner Levy that shifts the burden from struggling businesses to property owners.

Key findings from Liberal Democrat research:

Neighbourhood shopping precincts facing especially high increases, with rateable values rising 20-46%
Milton Road businesses: 25% rateable value increases
Chesterton Road businesses: 43-46% increases
Cherry Hinton High Street: 19-25% increases
Arbury area: approximately 20% increases
Combined with removal of 40% relief, actual bills rising by several hundred percent
Cheney Payne, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Cambridge, said:

"Business rates are controlled by national government: local councils just collect them on their behalf. Only the Government can fix this crisis, but they're choosing not to act.

"When businesses are told their bills will go from £2,700 to £10,900 in two years, the government’s transitional protections are clearly completely inadequate. This will be a hammer blow to important local businesses. Liberal Democrats have both short-term solutions and long-term vision. Labour seem to have neither."