Despite the news of small business rate relief for Wales, there are still 'worrying times ahead for Pembrokeshire' a traders' leader has forecast.

The Welsh Assembly Government has just announced that over half of small businesses in Wales will pay no business rates for the year from October.

And although the scheme has been described as a 'excellent news for business in Wales' by Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant, the effect of the controversial rateable value hikes, which came into being on Thursday, will still be the overwhelming challenge to the economy of a number of businesses, particularly in Narberth.

The town has over 200 businesses, but if the £12,000 rateable value top threshold is introduced in line with England, 58 will still get no relief.

Said Chamber of Trade secretary Gordon Barry: "As far as our High Street is concerned, the impact has been small. The 48 businesses there have suffered 210 per cent increases to their rateable values. Of these, only 17 will benefit from the changes announced. Before the revaluation, 43 would have benefited!"

One business couple in the town, David and Margaret Norcross of Inhouse Quilting, found themselves with the dubious honour of having one of the highest rate increases in Wales - of 450 per cent - when the revaluations were announced.

"Our rates bill this year would have been over £1,100, compared to £212 the previous year," said Mr Norcross, who is chairman of Narberth Chamber of Trade.

"Now, thanks to the rate relief, I will be paying just £600 for the next 18 months. I feel much happier for my own business, but I am very concerned for those 31 businesses in Narberth's High Street who do not qualify for rate relief.

"If some of them are at risk of survival, then so is my business. This is going to be a similar story throughout Pembrokeshire, and particularly within the hotel and tourist trade, and if that suffers then so does everybody else.

"If 31 Narberth High Street businesses are not touched by rate relief, how many more are there going to be in our county. It all adds up to worrying times for Pembrokeshire."

*The Welsh Assembly Government says that up to 50,000 businesses with a rateable value up to £6,000 will pay no business rates and up to a further 20,000 businesses with a rateable value between £6,001 and £12,000 could be eligible for tapered relief.

"The details of the scheme, including how the tapering mechanism will operate, have yet to be determined," said a spokeswoman.