Councillor Rob Strachan, Cabinet Member for Finance and Commissioning, commented: “With various reliefs
available, it is essential that eligible organisations do not miss out on valuable support. We recognise the
importance of businesses to the local economy and understand the challenges they face. We also acknowledge
the vital contribution of voluntary, charitable, and non-profit making organisations to the district, which may also
be subject to business rates.”

There are various types of business rates relief available to support different types of businesses and
organisations. These include small business rate relief, which helps small businesses with lower rateable values to
reduce or eliminate their rates bill, retail, hospitality, and leisure relief, which provides significant reductions to
eligible properties in those sectors, and non-profit making organisations discretionary relief, which supports
charities and voluntary groups that contribute positively to the community.

In addition, Lichfield District Council offers discretionary reliefs for organisations including charities, community
amateur sports clubs, properties within rural settlements, partially occupied properties, and organisations
suffering severe hardship. Each application for discretionary relief is carefully considered on its merits, with a
focus on the positive contribution made to the local economy and community.

Councillor Richard Holland, Cabinet Member for High Streets & Economic Development, commented: “I’ve worked
recently to help a number of local businesses make sure they claim the reliefs they are entitled to, and I’m keen to
raise the profile of business rate reliefs to help as many businesses as possible. It’s really easy to find out what you
are claiming currently, and how to apply and I’d encourage all businesses to check out
www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/ratesrelief to make sure they are claiming all they are entitled and to reach out to our
team if they have any queries.”

Emma Smith from Grace Cares which has been supported recently by Cllr Holland and the business rates team
added: “We are extremely grateful to Lichfield District Council for supporting our not for profit organisation.  It is
really important to keep our overheads down as much as we can in order to support more people in the
community.  So after seeking help to check our rates we were thrilled to discover we could have full rate relief,
this is a huge help to our small organisation.”

To find out if your business or organisation is already claiming relief, check your business rates bill or visit
www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/ratesrelief for the full list of reliefs granted and business rate payers. To apply for relief
please visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/ratesrelief. If you have any questions, you can email the team at
revenues@lichfielddc.gov.uk.