I am immensely proud to represent Durham, and part of what makes it so special are the wonderful independent businesses that are the pride of our high streets. We have fantastic pubs, such as the Fram Ferment, the Dun Cow Inn and the Browney. We have lovely shops that are unique to Durham, such as Wing and a Prayer, Elvet & Bailey and Discovering Durham. La Chocolatrice makes incredible chocolates; Circle Vintage and Pears Boutique sell quality clothing; and I will not even get started on how much I love our indoor and outdoor markets.
I reference those places because Durham’s high streets are home to a higher-than-average number of independent shops, which we cannot afford to lose. The decline of the high street is undeniable. As the Durham Business Improvement District points out, nowhere represents that better than Silver Street. It was once the artery that ran to the beating heart of our city, but it is now littered with empty shops and serves as a sad reminder of the struggle that many bricks and mortar shops face.
Although the pandemic has accelerated the decline, it started long before 2020. It will come as no surprise to my constituents that the north-east has the highest vacancy rate in England. There are many reasons for the high street’s struggle, but chief among them are sky high business rates. What I am hearing from businesses in Durham is that the priority must be levelling the playing field between high street businesses and online and out-of-town retail.
That is why I am glad that the Opposition are calling for business rates to be cut immediately in ’22-’23, funded by a one-off rise in the digital services tax. When we are in Government, we will scrap the outdated business rates system entirely and replace it with the fundamentally reformed business rates property tax. Independent businesses in Durham are ready to bounce back. The only question is: will the Government let them?
6.36 pm