Businesses to get cashback in rates deal

Nurseries, restaurants, pubs and shops are set to benefit from Wigan Council's new business rates relief scheme.
Coun David MolyneuxCoun David Molyneux
Coun David Molyneux

The discretionary revaluation relief scheme (DRR), designed to support businesses worst affected by government revaluation of business rates, will favour the borough’s smaller, local enterprises.

Three proposals will be discussed at next week’s cabinet before one is chosen and implemented.

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The Government has made £435m available to local authorities to pay for three relief funds – a small business relief scheme, pub relief and the DRR.

The last has been allocated £300m, of which Wigan has been awarded £897,000 over four years. Councils can design their own schemes according to local business needs.

Wigan’s aims to support the most vulnerable.

To qualify, firms must meet a set of criteria, which excludes national chain firms and those whose practice contradict the council objectives such as betting shops and same-day loan companies.

The borough has a total of 9,385 rateable properties, 4,012 of whom have seen an increase and 5,373 have either seen a decrease or no change in their rates.

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Councillors will review three options which could see between 280 and 900 businesses given funding of between £600 and £1,800.

Coun David Molyneux, deputy council leader and regeneration lead, said: “Nearly half of the borough’s businesses will be affected by the Government’s revaluation of properties which is why we’ve developed schemes that support as many of those as possible.”