Hackney Council’s petition protesting the rise of business rates around the UK closed today at 10 am.

It was started in response to the Government’s plans to raise business rates from the 1st April next year, nearly doubling the rates of many business owners in Hackney.

The petition closed today with over seven thousand signatures, but it’s just short of the ten thousand which it was aiming for. It was launched on 16th February by Hackney Council in combination with the East End Trades Guild and the Tower Hamlets council.

The petition quotes Len Maloney, a Haggerston business owner whose rates increased by £10,000 as saying, ‘I see no hope for the business. Ministers should come down to ground level to see what businesses like ours do for local communities.”

The petition will be delivered to Theresa May, the chancellor Phillip Hammond, and three other members of the cabinet.

Local Salon owner, Karen Turner, told City News how these rates impact her business.

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