Eric gets into a pickle over business rate revaluation delay

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference last week, communities secretary Eric Pickles refused to bow to pressure to reverse the Government’s controversial business rate revaluation delay from 2015 to 2017. Mr Pickles said it had “been clearly laid out in parliament” that the next revaluation would take place in 2017.

He added: “The reason we delayed it is because had we gone ahead there would have been more losers than gainers. Hopefully by 2017 we will be in a better state of equilibrium so that the changes won’t be quite as dramatic.”

The property industry blasted Mr Pickles’ stance.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “The baffling claim that more people would lose than gain from a 2015 revaluation would be humorous if the consequences were not so dire for those who are paying artificially-inflated rates bills linked to pre-crash property values.”

Ed Cooke, director of policy at the British Council of Shopping Centres, described the delay as an awful decision based on spurious data and pointed out that the Tories were the only major party not to focus on business rates at their conference.

David Cureton, head of rating at Johnson Fellows, has echoed both Liz Pearce and Ed Cooke’s views adding: “The Government has ignored pleas from a number of groups that think a rating revaluation is needed to iron out the shifting rental values, especially in the retail sector. Most northern towns are now paying significantly higher business rates than similar towns in the south, once again creating a north-south divide.

“Mary Portas, Sir Philip Green and, more recently, Bill Grimley have all voiced their opinions that the postponement of the revaluation from 2015 to 2017 is a bad decision. Unfortunately, this has fallen on deaf ears at Whitehall!”