Llanidloes councillor calls for overhaul of business rates

A North Powys town councillor and Senedd candidate has called for urgent reform of the business rates system, warning that without change, rural communities in Montgomeryshire risk long-term decline.

Cllr Glyn Preston, who represents Llanidloes and is Lead Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate for Gwynedd Maldwyn, backed calls made by Jane Dodds MS for a system that is “fairer, more sustainable and rooted in rural reality”.

The Welsh Government has not outlined a clear, long-term strategy for the future of business rates in Wales. Instead, policy direction and financial support continue to be determined through the annual Senedd budget process.

Jane Dodds said this “short-term approach creates uncertainty for businesses, local authorities and investors, who cannot plan with confidence beyond each financial year”.

She added: “This mismatch puts businesses, jobs and whole communities at risk. If action is not taken, rural towns and villages will continue to hollow out. Once these businesses disappear, they are rarely replaced - and the social and economic fabric of communities is weakened in the process.”

In counties such as Powys, Ceredigion and parts of Gwynedd, small and medium sized businesses operate within “a distinct and persistent set of challenges”, trading in “limited and often fragile markets” and serving populations “dispersed across wide geographical areas”.

For many tourism and hospitality firms, “seasonal fluctuations are not a marginal factor but a defining feature of their business model”. When visitor numbers decline, there is no substantial urban population to compensate for the loss in footfall.

Cllr Preston said rural areas like Llanidloes and Montgomeryshire needed a system that properly reflects those realities.

“A modern Wales needs a modern system - one that recognises local conditions, supports rural enterprise, and protects the community institutions that hold our villages and towns together,” he said.

Jane Dodds said she is calling on the Welsh Government “to work closely with local authorities, representative bodies and rural communities” to design a reformed business rates system that reflects the needs of rural Wales.