Traders in dispute with council

A group of Crawley traders have called on the council to reduce a planned rent increase.
Traders at Tilgate ParadeTraders at Tilgate Parade
Traders at Tilgate Parade

A group of Crawley traders have called on the council to reduce a planned rent increase.

Business owners whose premises are based in Tilgate Parade have also expressed disappointment their rent was not waived during the coronavirus lockdown.

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However the council has said the traders have previously paid a lower rate than equivalent sites on the private sector, and insisted that support has been provided during the pandemic.

A statement on behalf of the traders said: “The original suggested rent increase put forward by the council was in the region of 35 per cent, which, after negotiations, the council moved lower to around 30 per cent.

“How can tenants accept an increase of 30 per cent literally overnight? During the Covid-19 crisis, some of the local parade shops have tried to trade but due to the lack of footfall because of the lockdown, shops have experienced a major loss in their income.

“Despite many of them being closed and receiving no income from their business, they continued to pay to the council either full rent or a portion of commercial rent that the council charge for the living accommodation above the shop premises.

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“We felt that a rent-free period of around six months ought to be given to us to help get us back on our feet.”

A council spokesman said: “These lease renewals date back to December 2018. We are currently negotiating the terms of the new leases – including the rents – with our respective legal representatives in accordance with the timetable set out by the court and agreed by both parties. If an agreement cannot be reached on the rent, a judge will listen to all parties and decide on what the rents should be. Currently the timetable for agreeing matters before needing to go to court for a decision runs until October. Historically the council’s parade tenants have been paying rent at a lower rate per square foot than on Crawley’s private parades. We have a waiting list of businesses interested in leasing our property.

“During lockdown the council has worked with our commercial tenants or contractors in different ways depending upon the nature of our contractual relationship, their circumstances (75 per cent of shops on the council’s neighbourhood parades remained open during the pandemic because they are categorised as essential), and the packages of support available.

“The council has actively targeted commercial tenants with arrears to make them aware of business grant support. Among our small and medium commercial tenants total arrears were approximately £290,000. Those organisations benefited from a total of £550,000 in business grants. Many of these will have been parade businesses. We have also been offering payment plans to help with cashflow and trying to be as flexible with our tenants as possible.”

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