British Property Federation: Empty Rates Campaign
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Winner of 'Private Sector Campaign of the Year' by Public Affairs News
Campaign strategy
The BPF led the campaign via three routes: press/media, Parliament and policy. Through integrating all three of these strands, the BPF channelled stories of woe from constituent to MP, local resident to local newspaper, and businessman to national media, all the while collating the evidence into policy briefings for Government officials.
BPF's efforts achieved over 500 articles in the print media, over 150 interviews in the broadcast media, support from over 125 MPs from all political parties (including the Government's Chief Whip, Nick Brown), and over 5,500 signatures on our Number 10 petition.
Press clippings
BBC Six O'Clock News - 26 August 2008
Bloomberg Money and Politics (TV) - 23 August 2008
The Times - April 1 2008
Mail on Sunday - 3 August 2008
The Guardian - 26 August 2008
The Sun - 31 October - 'Mandy backs biz tax'
Growing the coalition
The campaign gained the support of Regional Development Agencies, Urban Regeneration Companies, the Mayor of London, various local councils, Property Week and the Daily Mail. BPF put together a letter to the Chancellor along with Property Week that included signatures from McDonalds, British Airways, ASDA, British Land, Prudential, Westfield, Tesco and Nokia.
Campaign website - www.emptyrates.com
Lastly, BPF with support from ASDA developed a campaign website aimed at empowering all businessmen to become part of the campaign by writing to their MPs and signing up to our Number 10 petition.
Result
In the 2008 Pre Budget Report the Chancellor increased the exemption on empty rates for one year (April 2009 to April 2010), which would help over 70 per cent of properties. While a success, the other 30 per cent of properties are in much need of help during these woeful economic times and the campaign therefore continues.
For further information on the BPF campaign, please contact Kurt Mueller, BPF Public Affairs Manager on 020 7802 0128.
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Empty Property Rates Campaign - On 1 April 2008, the Government removed a long standing tax relief for commercial properties at an estimated cost of £950m per year.
The campaign against empty rates fell naturally into the lap of the British Property Federation (BPF), representing those that own, manage and invest in UK property. Quickly though, the BPF realised that their calls would fall on deaf ears in Whitehall, unless they could relate the heightened tax burden to everyday individuals - pensioners, small business owners, and communities in need of regeneration and investment.
The hotline, evidence gathering and building the coalition
By bringing together all the voices of business including the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, and the British Retail Consortium, the BPF began collecting evidence, through a campaign 'hot line' and the established networks and channels of the other campaign partners, about pensioners losing all their savings, demolitions of perfectly good buildings, and laudable regeneration schemes being scrapped.
