PROMISES were made at the end of 2006 that all businesses – especially the many small business – on the route of the tram works, would be granted temporary business rate reductions of between 20-80 per cent for the entire period of the disruption in
any one street.
These pledges were to help offset the inevitable major reductions in traders' turnovers and profits and help them survive. But we are now faced with the completely unacceptable situation whereby the promises made to Edinburgh's business community have been shattered.
Eighteen months on, the organisations that created the scheme can't even agree amongst themselves the fine detail of what was agreed. There's even a denial that a business rates reduction scheme was agreed at all. On October 31 2006, TIE said in a press release: "A groundbreaking support package has been announced today between TIE, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and Edinburgh City Council," it said. "The standard reduction will be 20 per cent. Greater reductions may be applied in the cases of most severe disturbance."
In October 2007 the Lothian Assessors Department told me to my horror that "the tram works are simply normal roadworks and therefore do not merit a business rate reduction". In November 2007 at meetings organised by the FSB and jointly attended by Edinburgh Chambers, TIE, the city council finance department and the assessors' department, the failure to implement the previous year's rates agreement was discussed. The Chamber of Commerce and the council both agreed all retail properties on the tram route should be receiving business rate reductions of between 20-80 per cent for the whole period of the works in any one street.
TIE's understanding of the same agreement was that the assessor would only grant a fixed 20 per cent reduction, and then only while there were holes directly in front of the individual businesses. The assessors' department said it had not made any agreement tto guarantee a reduction in business rates. After significant persuasion by the FSB, Edinburgh Chambers and the council, the Lothian assessor agreed to grant 20 per cent business rate cuts in Leith Walk, but only while there were holes directly in front of the premises.
From our survey of Leith Walk, most businesses have suffered reductions in their turnover in excess of 50 per cent every week for the past nine months. If these are not "cases of most severe disturbance" meriting the agreed rates reduction of up to 80 per cent, then what is?
In December 2006, I stated in this newspaper that the savings from the temporary business rates reduction scheme would not buy a "prawn sandwich". I wish now I had suggested stale cheese as the filling.
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Graham Russell is chairman of the FSB Edinburgh branch