HIGH street retailers are facing catastrophe unless they receive help to offset huge rates rises, Monmouth’s MP has warned.

Traders in Monmouth launched a petition in February to try and change valuations which in some cases have added thousands of pounds to their rateable values.

 But MP David Davies says Welsh Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford’s £10m of extra support for high street traders in Wales hit by big bill rises will not keep some “cherished family-owned businesses” afloat.

“We are facing a catastrophe on local high streets if the Welsh Government fails to recognise the damage set to be inflicted on businesses across Monmouthshire,” said Mr Davies.

He claimed that while Chancellor Philip Hammond had unveiled a package to ease the burden over the border in the Forest, many independent firms in Wales will be facing closure when the revaluation comes into force in April.

Measures in England include a monthly cap, meaning no business or pub losing small business rate relief there should see their bill increase by more than £50, he said.

The MP added: “Unless something drastic is done, we will definitely see cherished family-owned businesses shut down in Wales, and there is a real fear it could trigger a rapid decline of our colourful town centres.”

He wants the Welsh finance secretary to use some of the extra £200m delivered by the 2017 Budget to Wales to match the support received by English businesses, which he described as “altogether much more generous”.

With the digital revolution transforming the way consumers shop, he has also urged a radical shift in how rates are assessed, by calling for profits to be taxed, rather than a “bureaucrat’s view” of property rental values.

“The system of business rates is unfair, outdated and deters investment,” said Mr Davies. “Taxing businesses on the basis of rent values seems a somewhat archaic approach in a modern economy.”