Issue - meetings

To receive a report on the Rural Settlement List for non-domestic rates.

Executive Councillor: S Ferguson.

Contact Officer K Kelly

01480 38815

The Cabinet has approved Huntingdonshire District Council’s Rural Settlement List for publication by 31st December 2023, to facilitate the award of Rural Business Rates Relief for the financial year commencing 1st April 2024.

Councillors S J Conboy, M A Hassall and B A Mickelburgh abstained from voting on this item.

The Cabinet considered a report by the Revenues and Benefits Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book)on the updated Rural Settlement List comprising settlements with a population of less than 3,000. The report sets out why changes were being proposed to certain parishes and shows that the impact of the changes would not be detrimental in any way to businesses trading in the rural areas of Huntingdonshire.

The Council’s statutory responsibility is to compile and maintain a Rural Settlement List under the provisions of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997. The intention of the List was to allow the Council to grant business rates relief to qualifying businesses to support rural businesses and communities. It is a legal requirement that boundaries are set and published by 31st December each year.

Following a review of the latest population data estimates available from Cambridgeshire County Council, no changes are proposed to the Rural Settlement List.

The Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environment, Communities and Partnerships) at its meeting on Thursday, 7 December 2023 had discussed the Rural Settlement List for non-domestic rates and the Panel heard that there were no changes to the list from last year. It was also clarified that the map areas highlighted in blue were parts of urban areas which had been designated as defined rural settlements in order to support local businesses and observed that due to there having been no change from the previous year, it might be prudent to pursue an alternative method of publishing. In response the Executive Councillor had confirmed to the Panel that there was an option to do this via a delegated responsibility and that this would be investigated.

As a result of discussions on the report, it was

RESOLVED

  that the changes to Huntingdonshire District Council’s Rural Settlement List for publication by 31st December 2023 to facilitate the award of Rural Business Rates Relief for the financial year effective from 1st April 2024 be approved.