Gareth Snell MP welcomes business rates cut for Stoke-on-Trent’s pubs, clubs and live music venues

Gareth Snell MP welcomes business rates cut for Stoke-on-Trent’s pubs, clubs and live music venues

Gareth Snell MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central has welcomed a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues, saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 next year, and said the cut will give local landlords the confidence to invest in their businesses for years to come.

The cut forms part of the Government’s wider plan to support local high streets and help communities like Stoke-on-Trent thrive. Mr Snell has long argued that pubs and clubs are not just businesses but the beating heart of local communities and has lobbied ministers on issues affecting pubs including lowering beer duty.

Pubs, clubs and live music venues that make up Stoke-on-Trent’s high streets have for too long been replaced by boarded up windows and for sale signs. Mr Snell welcomed the certainty the cut will give to businesses looking to invest, grow and create jobs.

Across the West Midlands, an estimated 550 licensed clubs and 3,430 pubs and bars stand to benefit. Nationally, up to 32,000 pubs, clubs and live music venues will benefit from the cut, saving the typical pub an estimated £1,100 in the next financial year.

Gareth said:

“Pubs and clubs are more than just businesses. They are at the heart of community life across Stoke-on-Trent. This cut gives landlords the certainty and support they need to invest, grow and plan for the future. I welcome the Government’s commitment to backing these valued local institutions.”

The cut will be fully funded, including through reviewing reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive contribution to local communities, such as vape shops. The Government will also crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not pay their fair share of tax, ending the unfair advantage this gives them over businesses that play by the rules.

Gareth said this was just the start, and that he would keep pushing ministers to go further for Stoke-on-Trent’s pubs, clubs and smaller venues, which still face real cost pressures. He said the Government’s commitment to reform business rates at the Budget, including Small Business Rates Relief, would be the next test of that ambition.