THE Chancellor was last night accused of putting his “foot on the brake of the economy” by refusing to offer businesses any respite by re-introducing empty property rate (EPR) relief.

Business leaders said the lack of business benefits in the Budget has been exacerbated by Alistair Darling overlooking the need to offer full relief from EPR, which is forecast to cost the North-East £40m this year through paying rates on empty commercial buildings.

Pressure had been building on the Chancellor to reconsider the Government’s stance on EPR, with the Building on Success campaign – run by The Northern Echo and North-East Chamber of Commerce – being launched last December to help stress the importance and urgency of the need for EPR relief.

Although 12-month relief was given to properties with a rateable value of under £15,000 in November’s Pre-Budget Report, the Government’s claim that it would benefit up to 75 per cent of businesses in the North-East was shown to be inaccurate when research revealed its statistics included public toilets, car parking spaces and cashpoints.

Last night, Mr Darling’s failure to act to remove the sizeable burden on business was condemned across the North-East.

James Ramsbotham, NECC chief executive, pledged to keep up the pressure on the Chancellor.

“The complete absence of any intention to scrap EPR is a sizeable foot on the brake of our economy,”

he said.

“The scant relief on these rates seems to be more beneficial to public toilets and cash machines than they are to real businesses, and we will continue to keep up the pressure on the Chancellor to reverse this decision.”

Richard Farr, director of rating at Sanderson Weatherall, said EPR is having a sizeable stifling effect.

“The Budget presented an excellent opportunity to increase the threshold to a more meaningful figure, which will impact on a greater number of tenants and landlords.

It’s hugely disappointing that Mr Darling has made no attempt to review this nominal offering,” he said.

“The Chancellor’s lack of review on the issue of rates relief continues to stifle the current market and even more importantly, it has a serious knock-on effect on capital investment and future regeneration.”

Gillian Charlesworth, director of external affairs at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: “EPR will continue to act as a major deterrent to regeneration schemes and property investment across the country. Steps should have been taken in the Budget to increase empty property rate relief, given the current economic conditions.”

Speaking on The Northern Echo website’s TV programme, Northern Decision Makers, John Orchard, director of Marchday, which has developed Lingfield Point, in Darlington, said: “I would love to have seen something change on the empty property business rates.

“Nothing happened, presumably because we can’t afford it at the moment, but it is unfair legislation which prevents people doing business and being entrepreneurial.”