From 2006 to 2010, I was a councillor for Lee Green ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. During that time, I blogged regularly and in 2009 I won the Tim Garden Award for the Best Blog by a Liberal Democrat Holding Public Office. My blog posts from my term of office are archived here in case they prove of use to former constituents, or to those who share my annoyance with faulty street furniture
At the last local assembly meeting, a number of people asked what the situation is regarding business rates on the empty units at Leegate. I think there was a feeling that if these could be raised, it might encourage the owners to let the empty units.
I’ve taken this up with the Council’s business rates manager, and received the following response:
You will be aware that business rates is calculated on the basis of a property’s rateable value, as provided by the Valuation Office, an agency of HM Revenues & Customs, and then multiplied by the rate poundage set by the Government each year. Therefore, each unit or property would be charged individually. However, as you have alluded to in your e-mail, on 1 April 2008 the regulations changed with regard to the business rates levied on empty properties. From this date, all unoccupied shops had their rates increased from 50% of the full charge, to 100%. Effectively, this means that there is no distinction in charge between an occupied and unoccupied property.
The Council has no powers at its disposal to increase the rates payable on empty shop units, although I believe by increasing the empty rates charge on empty properties it was the Governments belief that this measure would encourage landlords to re-let their properties more quickly.
I trust this explains the position.
So – there’s already a financial incentive to let the units, but this doesn’t seem to be enough. In my dealings with the owners, I’ve always been told they’d like to let the units – but only on the basis that they can get the unit back fairly quickly if they decide they want to redevelop the centre. Unfortunately, that isn’t very attractive to someone who may be making a large investment to fit out a shop unit.
