Relief comes to Pangbourne with 10% reduction in business rates

The 112-year-old toll bridge was scheduled to re-open in April but the Whitchurch Bridge Company has said that the new opening date was likely to be September, owing to high water levels on the River Thames preventing work being carried out.
Some businesses in the village, many of which rely on passing trade, have reported between a 15 and 20 per cent reduction in footfall since the bridge closed.
However, the Valuation Office Agency has said it will provide a temporary reduction in business rates to at least 16 businesses affected by the closure.
The decision means that the affected businesses will receive a 10 per cent reduction in the rateable value from October 3, 2013 and August 31 this year.
The manager of Garlands Organic Shop, Abi Thorne, said the announcement came as a relief.
She said: “It’s very good. We have not been doing too badly. People are still coming over from Whitchurch but not they’re not coming over as often. Some businesses are being hit more than others depending on what they sell.”
However, the news was not met with such enthusiasm by the owner of Greys Cheese, Barbara Grey.
She said: “A 10 per cent reduction is not much, which we must not read as compensation. It’s better than nothing but it’s nothing that you could call overly generous.”
The MP for Reading West, Alok Sharma, who wrote to the Valuations Office, said: “Many of the businesses in Pangbourne rely on passing trade and are facing a downturn as a consequence of the Whitchurch Bridge closure. I am therefore delighted that the Valuation Office Agency has permitted a reduction in business rates, which will provide some much needed relief to these small local businesses.”
Meanwhile, reconstruction work began on March 24, with company secretary, Geoff Weir, saying that an extra crane had been delivered to help speed the work up and to safely lift without encroaching on the boat navigation channel.
He added that work would be carried out on some weekends and the company would try to avoid working on Sundays unless they needed to catch up on work not finished on a Saturday.