The British Property Federation (BPF) has called on the government to extend the period of business rates relief to 12 months and reintroduce a 50% rate cut for long-term empty stores in a bid to revitalise the high street. Owners of vacant shops currently have a three-month exemption from business rates to upgrade stores as necessary and re-let them to a new tenant. Data from the Local Data Company shows that less than one in ten empty shops (9%) are re-occupied within six months and almost a third (31%) lie empty for more than two years.
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