There is a new government in town.

After a very divisive election, we are starting to see the first shoots of a new government with new policies on tackling the key issues of the day. Labour seems keen on delivering their manifesto commitments with the establishment of boards chaired by the PM to ensure their delivery.

Here are some pledges that hopefully will become policy:

1. Overhaul of business rates – The current regime really penalises physical businesses over online businesses. The small business rates relief seems arbitrary and temporary. I’m sure it would benefit many small businesses to introduce a fairer and easier to understand system.

2. Tackling empty shops and revitalising the high street – Interestingly, as part of the RICS Commercial PGPs, I had the opportunity to respond to a Lords inquiry. Prior to the election, I was also invited to discuss views around the high street with a Labour MP. This was cancelled due to the calling of a General Election, but now that MP is part of a Labour government. Labour seems to care about this even when they were in opposition; hopefully, there is more to come.

3. Planning reform – It was in the manifesto, and we have had a policy announcement about this: https://lnkd.in/gVtSbiBk. Most interesting for me was the recruitment of an extra 300 planners to support local authorities and revisiting refused applications. Planning refusals for things like installing extractors or signage can put a damper on new lease agreements. Small companies struggle to recover from these, the property stays empty, and our high street is worse off for it. It would be great to see more oversight in the decision process.

It is important to give the new government our well wishes as they start making the changes they have promised. Olawill would be excited to see more policies announced that allow small businesses to thrive which is in keeping with our ethos. If you are a small business, we are ready to support and give advice to ensure your rented property works for you and is not a stumbling block to your business. We are also grateful to be working within the capacity of the RICS commercial PGP to support the government in developing relevant policy.

#NewBeginnings #smallbusiness #businessrates #planningreform #highstreet #emptyshops