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    Friday 20 March 2009

    Rents reductions are needed to prevent job losses

    More jobs will be lost in Westport unless landlords reduce rents on shops, offices and pubs, that's the warning to the incoming President of Westport Chamber of Commerce from a member of Westport's Multi Agency Enterprise Group.  Labour's Cllr Keith Martin has written to the new President of the Chamber urging the Chamber of Commerce to address the issues of rent levels in Westport.

    Cllr Martin also warned that any further Rates freezes or reductions by Westport Town Council would have to depend on co-operation from the business section in the area of rent levels.  

    "Westport Town Council is doing its bit to help businesses stay open but we need to see a rents initiative from the business sector in return for a Rates initiative from the council."

    This warning on rent levels follows Cllr Keith Martin's earlier call for landlords and developers to be "realistic" in relation to the level of rents being charged on commercial properties in light of the recession.

    According to Cllr Martin "Rents in Westport are still uncompetitive and too high for the town, especially now that we are feeling the recession.  Landlords have to be realistic when charging rents as businesses feel the economic pinch.  Wages are being frozen and cut, profits are down and landlords should be prepared to renegotiate rents rather than see businesses close.  I would suggest that businesses renting properties renegotiate their rents with their landlords and that rents should be reassessed every six months or so until things get better.  

    "Landlords and developers who have mortgages on the properties they rent should pass on the decrease in mortgage rates on to their tenants and should make every effort to lower the rent they charge as less rent is better than no rent.  Landlords with no mortgages should try and reduce rents even further."

    "We need everyone to be realistic, Westport Town Council have frozen Commercial Rates on businesses and now we need to see landlords and developers freeze and reduce commercial rents.  Otherwise we will see more and more businesses close.  Things will get better but we need to work together.  We need to keep businesses open and we need to keep people in jobs."

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    1 comment:

    Cllr Keith Martin said...

    I doubt it. Her top speed would take us all day to get there and another to get home again!