Another hot topic will be served up along with free tea, coffee and bacon sandwiches at the next BID breakfast meeting at Liz ‘n’ Lils on Thursday 13th March. The BID team will discuss business rates and plans to fill empty premises in quiet parts of town. Exchange Coffee’s Mark Smith who is also the interim Chairman of the bid steering committee said, ‘This is likely to be a subject close to the hearts of many struggling businesses who find themselves fighting for customers and against high overheads. We want traders to come along to ask the difficult questions and share their ideas of how we can invest in the £1.5 million revenue that the BID will provide to develop Blackburn over the next five years.’
Liz ‘n’Lil’s cafe proprietors Sonia and Sharona Harrison recently described the monthly service charges as ‘crippling’ and after months of waiting, have recently been successful in having their rateable reassessed and refunded on their premises, the former Grapes pub in Sudell Cross.
Sharona said, ‘Having been in business for over 12 months we missed the opportunity to take advantage of the zero rate offer for new businesses. It’s been a long, hard fight for our rates to be reviewed.’
Town centre traders are invited to hear a presentation by Caroline James from Trevor Dawson, Chartered Surveyors who will outline support for businesses, discuss ideas to fill empty shops and the procedure for rates appeals.
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