Supermarket Levy - good for Morley?

Morley Town Centre

A proposal from the group Local Works is one we are supporting in Morley. Their idea is to use the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 to levy an additional charge on local large businesses and use that money to expand the rate relief to smaller businesses across town centres.

Many people put the demise of local town centres down to the growth of supermarkets. Indeed many traders in Batley argue that the introduction of a mega Tesco’s has left the town centre there stagnating. In Morley - although Morrison’s are quite dominant - we have a town centre which has many independent operators and is doing well in competition with its local rivals. This is down to the breadth of businesses operating cross the town centre, a decent market and a supportive Chamber of Trade and Town Centre Management Board.

It seems fair to me that the Supermarkets - who are making large profits even in these difficult times - ought to provide some support to smaller traders who are struggling to pay their business rates. This redistributive proposal provided the reliable finance to continue to support thriving town centres.

Let’s hope the City Council uses its powers to introduce such a levy when it is given the opportunity!