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Times OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
28 pages
TOWN’S BIGGEST PROPERTY GUIDE
: e DE ag re SI p tu IN 8 ea ur l s f Yo oo h Sc
Wednesday February 26 | 2020
Disabled charity claims shopping centre refuses to help keep it open even as it spends £11m on refit
PHOTO: David Hodgkinson
By Richard Williams A CHARITY that provides mobility scooters for disabled shoppers at Royal Victoria Place [RVP] is closing down next month because it has run out of money. And it says RVP, which is spending £11m on a facelift, has refused to help because it does not attract enough shoppers to the centre. RVP deny they were approached for help. Shopmobility in Tunbridge Wells provides wheelchairs and mobility scooters for up to 50 disabled visitors a week to the shopping centre. Those using the service often have family and friends joining them on shopping trips.
STREET LIGHTING: More than 1,000 people watched the lanterns paraded through the town centre at the weekend. See pages 4-5
Closure
Retailers see rate bills slashed amid calls for urgent reforms While the news has been welcomed, it has been described as a ‘sticking plaster’ amid calls for top to bottom reform of the current Business Rate system. Darren Austin from Tunbridge Wells accountancy firm Synergee says the tax has hit some of his clients hard. “I know some of my clients are finding rates absolutely crippling at the moment, especially publicans. “The relief is just a sticking plaster, and I think the whole system does need looking at. The burden of the rates system is unfairly falling on those that are not getting much for their money. There needs to be a fairer way for
The charity says they provide a ‘vital service’ for the disabled that enables them to go shopping in RVP, charging around £5 for use of the equipment for up to three hours. Following central government grant funding cuts to local authorities, Shopmobilty has had its support cut by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to the tune of £9,000, from £17,000 to just £8,000. The charity, which has been providing the mobility service for more than 20 years, does not pay rent to RVP – it operates from a corridor beside fashion retailer Next – but needs more than £20,000 a year to pay wages and bills. It now faces closure at the end of March because of a shortfall of around £15,000. Chris Jeffery, Trustee of Shopmobility, says in a meeting with the other trustees and the shopping
Continued on page 2
Continued on page 2
By Robert Forrester TUNBRIDGE WELLS retailers are to be offered £1.6million in relief on their business rates, which could see bills for hundreds of local shops, restaurants and bars halved. The Government’s Business Rates Retail Relief scheme was introduced last year, and provided a third off bills, but the scheme is now being extended for another year, with the discount increased to 50 per cent. The policy goes to the first full council meeting of 2020 tonight [Wednesday] at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, and since the money for the rate relief will be reimbursed by central government, councillors are expected to approve the
plans, which will see its introduction on April 1. The relief will see rates cut for all struggling retailers whose business has a rateable value below £51,000, which could see savings of up to £12,500 a year. The Retail Rate Relief scheme is set to
Some small businesses could save up to £12,500 a year benefit many types of business including shops, restaurants, cafés and drinking establishments. Financial services, estate agents and employment agencies will not qualify.