Ed Miliband will promise to freeze rates for businesses with a rateable value of less than £50,000 at 2014 levels for three years
Ed Miliband has won praise from campaigners trying to help revive Britain's high streets as it emerged that the Labour leader would help small businesses by freezing their business rates.
Bill Grimsey, the veteran retailer who called for "root and branch" reform of the rates system in his recently launched report on the fate of the high street, said: "Small businesses are being heavily squeezed by big rises in business rates and this is pushing many over the edge. Businesses have been crying out for help for years and Ed Miliband is the first party leader to demonstrate that he gets it."
In his speech at the Labour party conference on Tuesday Miliband will promise to freeze rates for businesses with a rateable value of less than £50,000 at 2014 levels for three years from 2015, should his party win power.
Labour's move comes despite positive signs on the high street as figures showed the rate of store closures slowing slightly. The data also showed how charity shops, betting shops and other services are replacing clothes stores and shoe shops.
In the UK's top 500 towns 18 stores a day closed in the first half of 2013, just two fewer a day than in the same period last year, according to figures released by accountancy firm PwC and the Local Data Company. However, that slower rate of closures combined with an 18% rise in the number of new stores to produce a dramatic drop in the number of empty shops to 209, compared with 953 in the first half of last year.
The figures, which focus on large chains, showed charity shops, cheque cashing outlets and bookies as the biggest winners while photographic stores, women's clothes shops and video libraries were the biggest losers – reflecting the dramatic downsizing of photography chain Jessops and video rental store Blockbuster after both went into administration this year.
Mike Jervis, insolvency partner and retail specialist at PwC, said: "The shifts in multiple retailers' store portfolios are a barometer for changes in our society and its habits. Closures in areas such as the photography and video sectors reflect the sea-change in how consumers are spending."
Other chains to gain included hearing aid shops, three-star hotels and coffee shops.
The changes echo a similar picture among independent retailers, where it was revealed this month that traditional independent shops are rapidly being replaced by service providers such as barbers, coffee shops and nailbars.
A record 200 independent retailers such as clothing stores, shoe shops and newsagents closed in the UK's top 500 towns in the first half of this year, about the same number as in the 2012 full year.
Matthew Hopkinson, director of the Local Data Company, said: "This analysis of openings and closures in the top 500 town centres shows how significant the changes are to the makeup of our high streets. The good news is that the significant decline in chain retailers numbers in town centres in 2012 is slowing down."
High street winners and losers
Charity shops
Outlets: +97
Percentage change: +2.8%
Cheque cashing
Outlets: +62
Percentage change: +10.4%
Betting shops
Outlets: +53
Percentage change: 2.2%
Convenience stores
Outlets: +52
Percentage change: +3.6%
Photography shops
Outlets: -132
Percentage change: -24.3%
Women's clothes
Outlets: -122
Percentage change: -3.3%
Video rentals
Outlets: -104
Percentage changed: -47.9%
Banks/financial
Outlets: -78
Percentage change: -1.9%
Article Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk
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