A SOMERSET MP has called on the government to reform “damaging” business rates to give one of her local towns a fighting chance.

Business rates are paid by businesses on an estimate of how much it would cost to rent their premises, with around half the amount collected going to central government and half being retained by the local authority.

Sarah Dyke, the Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, used a parliamentary debate on high street regeneration to call for business rates to be reformed, arguing it would encourage firms to fill empty shops in Wincanton town centre within her constituency.

The government said it would honour its manifesto commitment to review business rates, with further details being anticipated following the budget on October 30.

Ms Dyke raised the issue in the House of Commons on September 2 during a wider range of questions posed to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner MP and ministers from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

She said: “The outdated business rates system has left some market towns, such as Wincanton in my constituency, with empty premises on the high streets, damaging communities’ sense of pride and preventing councils from benefiting on the back of flourishing town centres.

“Will the minister work with his treasury colleagues to boost small businesses and regenerate high streets by reforming damaging business rates?”

Wincanton’s high street has struggled in recent years in light of new employment sites coming forth on the edge of the town near the A303, with further commercial space being planned as part of new housing developments.

In addition to her duties as an MP, Ms Dyke represents the Blackmoor Vale division on Somerset Council, which includes numerous villages to the south of Wincanton.

The council’s executive committee voted in February to scrap all remaining funding for the long-running efforts to regenerate Wincanton town centre, one year after numerous public realm improvements had been paused in January 2023.

Ms Dyke was not a member of the executive when this decision was taken, with the council arguing it was necessary to reduce borrowing costs.

Alex Norris MP, the parliamentary under-secretary for democracy and local growth, said the government would honour its manifesto commitment to review business rates – though he did not specify what could potentially replace the current system.

The MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley said: “That is a commitment that we made at the previous election, and we intend to deliver on it.”