Burnham urged to boost West End with tax cuts and extra policing
The West End risks losing its status as one of the world’s best shopping and hospitality destinations without immediate action to cut tax and boost policing, Andy Burnham has been warned.
The New West End Company (NWEC), which represents 800 businesses involved in the world-famous district, has urged the government to slash business rates and invest in a new retail crime agency to boost the area’s growth.
The group of businesses said the district’s huge tax bill makes it a driver of economic growth across the UK, but they warned it could lose out on investment to rival cultural hubs like Paris, Tokyo and New York.
Dee Corsi, chief executive of the industry body, told City AM: “The West End is not only an engine for economic growth in London but drives economic output for every part of the UK.
“This collection of 800-plus businesses within a 20-minute walking radius makes an overwhelming and disproportionate contribution to the national economy, and together creates a destination enjoyed by millions from London, the UK and abroad.”
The West End pays about £17bn in tax every year and contributes eight per cent of the UK’s business rates bill, according to NWEC. The district generates three per cent of the country’s total economic output and supports more than 350,000 jobs.
West End businesses say their contribution to the UK’s economy is penned in by soaring business rates bills. The total business rates bill paid by these firms jumped from £212m to £274m in April this year.
Business rates, along with rising employment costs and above-inflation hikes to the national minimum wage, are driving business investment out of London and towards cities with “fewer policy constraints” like Dubai, Tokyo and Singapore, according to NWEC.
West End ‘central to UK growth’
The business group has urged the government not to hike the highest business rates multiplier, amid warnings that the Chancellor could do so to pay for a tax cut for smaller high street shops.
Earlier this month, the government announced plans to hand regional mayors the power to impose uncapped levies on overnight accommodation.
The New West End Company warned Andy Burnham to make sure this so-called ‘tourist tax’ is “proportionate”, adding that its proceeds must be reinvested into the areas where they are raised rather than being spent elsewhere.
The industry body called on the government to create a new national taskforce to tackle retail crime and the “organised begging and rough sleeping networks that exploit vulnerable people on our streets”.
NWEC has pledged £23m of investment in security operations in the district across the next five years and financed nearly 80,000 hours of private security just last year.
The industry body’s plans to boost the West End have been backed by some of the district’s most high-profile businesses.
Sandeep Bhalla, managing director of The Connaught hotel, said the government “must work alongside [businesses] to unlock further growth in London and the UK.”
Adam Hawksbee, external affairs director at Marks and Spencer, said: “For our stores to thrive, we need a tax system that supports growth and a West End that is safe, clean and welcoming to visitors from the UK and around the world.”
A government spokesperson said: “We want business and communities to thrive. Over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties already benefit from lower business rates multipliers and the Chancellor also prioritised support for the hospitality industry in his first week in the job when he cut business rates by 20 per cent for pubs, social clubs and live music venues – saving thousands of locals over £1,000 a year.
“As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events, rather than routinely commenting on rumour, speculation or proposals.”