SMALL Business Rates Relief is supposed to be a help to small businesses.  After ringing the rates department at the Forest of Dean District Council today, I am convinced that the current Govern­ment has no idea how to help small businesses in this country.

I lease two small units on Lydney Industrial Estate, with a rateable value of £5,900 each, and would assume that I would be eligible for the rates relief.  However, this is not the case. To obtain the relief I have to have one unit at a RV of less than £15,000 or if I have two units one has to be less than £2,200 RV and the second can make up the difference to £15,000 RV.    If I only rented one unit I would be entitled to 41 per cent relief, which equates to £1,117.58 per annum.  So, if I vacated one unit, I would gain £1,117.58 and the Council would be left with an empty building.  In view of the current economic climate, I feel that this is grossly unfair to the small business owner. – Lynda Jenkins, managing director, MD Jenkins Printers, Lydney.