Denny Bros Sprint Print, in King's Road, is refusing to pay the business rates until St Edmundsbury Borough Council agrees to pay it compensation.

But the council says the rates must be paid and that any disruption has been kept to a minimum through careful planning.

Maureen Denny, a director of Denny Bros at the King's Road store, said the road scheme hit trade hard, as barriers meant customers could not easily get to the shop.

She said: "The difference between profit and loss is very small and it has been very hard. We have been running at a loss. We employ 25 people. I'd hate for us to go out of business."

"We pay an awful lot of money and, because the disruption was caused by the council, we felt it was ridiculous to pay our business rates."

The firm has not paid business rates since May – Miss Denny said the boycott was the only bargaining tool the company had.

She claims the firm lost £1,000 a day during the first week of the 12-week improvements to the road.

The road, which has been made permanently one-way, was officially opened this week.

"It is great the road has been re-opened and we are pleased this is over," said Miss Denny.

"I hope now it will be easier for customers to get to us and, when the new development opens, there will be an increase in pedestrian traffic."

Cllr Terry Clements, borough council cabinet member for roads and transport, officially opened the road improvements on Tuesday, using the contra-flow cycle path to showcase the new street.

"The improvements in King's Road have justified the investment," he said. "The disruption during construction was kept to a minimum by careful planning and programming to complete the work as quickly as possible.

"There was communication with businesses and residents throughout the construction, but it is impossible to undertake works of this nature without some disruption.

"We have set the standard for the rest of the Cattle Market. It isn't easy to get these things right but, overall, there will be improvements for shoppers in this area."

A council spokeswoman said: "The council has a statutory responsibility to collect business rates and has advised Denny Bros that they remain responsible for making payment. Business rates can only be suspended or waived by instruction from the Valuation Office."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
aspx?sectionid=843">Click here to go back to our main news
index.