Narberth petitions over 200% rate rise (From Western Telegraph)

Narberth petitions Westminster and Welsh Assembly over rate rises

11:40am Monday 30th November 2009 in News

Two petitions have been launched in Narberth to fight proposed business rates increases of over 200%.

The first is aimed at the Welsh Assembly Petitions Committee and it is hoped it will be signed by almost every business in the town.

The second will be delivered to Westminster and is available for the general public to sign so that they can show their support for local traders.

Local Assembly Member Angela Burns has teamed up with Narberth Chamber of Trade to get the petitions off the ground.

“We have got just a week to get the business petition signed and submitted to the Welsh Assembly’s petitions committee before the Assembly rises for Christmas,” said Mrs Burns.

“I have taken advice on the wording as it has to be very precise to meet the requirements of the petitions committee.”

The businesses-only petition reads: “We, the business ratepayers of Narberth call upon the National Assembly of Wales to urge the Welsh Assembly Government to conduct an impact assessment on how businesses in the town will be affected by the changes in rateable values. This assessment should include effect on jobs and business closures”

The petition was launched by Mrs Burns, Conservative Parliamentary candidate Simon Hart and the Chamber of Trade on Saturday.

Traders in the town are facing, on average, a 160% hike in their business rates and many of them are now facing an uncertain future.

“We know there are about 200 businesses in Narberth and we are hoping that almost every one will be able to sign the petition by the end of the week,” said Mr Hart.

The second petition is for the general public to sign and will be collected over a longer period.

“There has been such a lot of support for the traders from the public and there’s such a head of steam that we really wanted to build on that,” said Chamber of Trade secretary Gordon Barry.

“On a bigger scale we would hope to formulate an across-Wales fight against these draconian rises in business rates that will have so much impact on our local jobs, towns and economies.”