Mayor must stand by promise to revitalise high street by addressing business rates – Colliers

Rating surveyors at Colliers have called for Richard Parker, the recently elected Labour mayor of the West Midlands, to stand by his election manifesto to: “Revitalize our high streets and bring back pride to our towns” - by addressing the business rates problem.

Parker lists a number of initiatives he plans to introduce, as new mayor, to revitalise the high street, which include: funding new market stalls for traders, giving Councils powers to take back empty shops for new businesses and introducing banking hubs*, but according to Colliers the key critical issue missed out is the need to tackle the unfair business rates regime.

John Webber (pictured), head of Business Rates at Colliers said: “Throughout the West Midlands we have large areas where retailers are still paying far too much in business rates, despite the recent 2023 Rating Revaluation which overall reduced the contribution of the retail sector to the £30 billion total business rates tax take.”

Colliers has researched a sample of locations in the West Midlands where Rateable Values have actually increased following the Revaluation:

            Location                                                                      Increase in RV

• Castle Square Weoley Castle B29                                         + 30 per cent
• Corporation Street Birmingham B4                                        + 30-40 per cent
• Coventry Road Small Heath Birmingham B10                       + 30 per cent
• High Street Kings Heath B14                                                 + 25 per cent
• Moseley Road Birmingham B12                                            + 76 per cent
• Pershore Road Selly Oak,  Birmingham B30                         + 80 per cent
• Stratford Road Sparkhill B11                                                 + 24 per cent
• Anders Square Perton WV6                                                  + 20 per cent
• Jubilee Crescent Radford Coventry CV6                               +30 per cent
• Daventry Road Coventry CV3                                               + 27 per cent
• Walsgrave Road Coventry CV2                                            + 96 per cent

Webber continues: “Considering the 2023 Rating List has a valuation date of 1 April 2021, the fact that the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has increased the valuations attributable to a number of retail locations from the previous 2017 Rating List, (which has a valuation date of 1 April 2015), appears absurd.

“They are in effect saying that these properties were worth more on 1 April 2021 ,during lockdown where shops were shut and people were told to stay at home than they were on 1 April 2015, at the height of the property market.

“Even for those not tuned into business rates, this just does not make sense.

“The increases in these areas cannot possibly be correct and although a number of these retailers are probably currently receiving some retail relief and are protected from the increases, at some point that relief will disappear. 

“We are currently seeing a two- tier Rating List: where agents acting for large landlords have been able to discuss the values in the main shopping centres with the VOA, we have seen rateable values plummet and hence business rates bills fall. 

“The rateable values for properties in the Bull Ring in Birmingham, for example went down by about around 30 per cent following the Revaluation.  

“But in more secondary locations and neighbourhood centres that have not had that luxury, values appear to have risen, as our examples show. The VOA clearly just got it wrong.”

“As a champion of the High Street, we call on the new West Midlands Mayor to challenge the VOA to explain how these figures are possibly correct and as a matter of urgency reduce them- or these locations will begin to suffer, especially as retail reliefs fade out.”