Chesterfield Council have taken every opportunity to increase rates

Rents were increased by the council at every available opportunity and any improvements we made to their property resulted in higher rates. It was a major factor in the closure of the bookshop.

We asked the council not to increase the rent but it fell on deaf ears. We wanted to rent another shop. The council valued it at £55,000 a year. We offered them £30,000 but were told “no” - because it was public money and they couldn't take a lower rent. So the shop remained unoccupied for three years.

We need councillors who have business acumen, who realise that by letting the shops to coffee shops and charity shops will kill the town centre.

Put up rents, rates, parking charges, market stall rents and let people beg for money under the car park ticket machines and you get exactly what we have now. A dying town.

Is Marks and Spencer the next business to go?

I now have a mobility shop on Chatsworth Road. My landlord is a business man. He is fair and understands the ups and downs of running a business. More importantly, he is flexible and supports new businesses. Maybe the council should offer him a job.

The decline of Chesterfield town over the past 25 years is, in my view, primarily down to the local authority which, I feel, has not actively sought to encourage independent new businesses or the general public into the town.

Kate Spencer-Payne

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