Landlords warn U-turn is ‘welcome but not enough’

Pub landlords across the UK have welcomed the news that the government is set to U-turn on plans to scrap business-rate relief for the hospitality industry – but warned it may not be enough to keep doors open.

- ATHENA STAVROU NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

At the Budget, the chancellor announced plans to scale back the discount that has been in force since the pandemic, from 75 per cent to 40 per cent - and said there would be no discount at all from April this year. The announcement was met with fury among pub landlords, many of whom have warned that they are already on the brink of closure amid a continuing struggle in the years since the pandemic.

The chancellor is now expected to extend relief to help landlords with rising bills, instead of scrapping cash support from April, ministers have told The Independent. Pub owners have said the move is “positive news” for an industry “in desperate need of help”, but many added that they still have concerns about other measures introduced by the government.

Dawn Hopkins, 56, who runs the Rose Inn in Norwich, said news of the U-turn will come as a “huge relief” to many pubs, but cautioned that there are still concerns about the reevaluation of business rates.

“Getting a discount back would be a huge relief, and at this point anything would help,” Hopkins, who is also the vice-chair of the Campaign for Pubs, told The Independent.

“But a major problem is that they’ve done these reevaluations of business rates, which have been astronomical in a lot of places,” she said. “So getting a discount back would be amazing, but we still need to look at the reevaluation issue.” Chris Welch, 39, who runs the Fishnet Tavern in North Tyneside, said: “It’s really positive news if this happens, but I still think more needs to be done.”