Up to 100 businesses in Bristol, including shops, pubs, restaurants, gyms and hotels, are at risk of shutting down unless the government raises the threshold for its retail, hospitality and leisure grant (RHLG), a campaign group is warning.
Companies only qualify for funding if they pay business rates of £51,000 or less - but Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) says many venues are facing the threat of closure if they are not given support.
Bars such as the Milk Thistle on Colston Avenue and No 1 Harbourside, which are temporarily closed in line with government rules, are among those paying higher business rates as a result of the rateable value of their premises - and it means they are not eligible for financial help.
Bristol BID is now backing the #RaiseTheBar campaign, which was initially set up by Croydon BID, calling on Downing Street to increase the rateable value threshold to £150,000.
A total of 86 MPs have signed the open letter the to chancellor Rishi Sunak, calling for the rateable value threshold to be increased for the RHLG grant.
Tell us about family life under lockdown - take the Great Big Lockdown Parenting Survey here
Jamie Tuck, partner in The Assemblies, which runs No 1 Harbourside, said: "It feels as though we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Firstly we were given a rateable value and rates bill that is completely disproportionate to our level of trade and the nature of our business and now have the bitter pill of being excluded from the benefits that equivalent businesses in our area are benefiting from...it just seems so unfair.
"If the 'bar was raised' we would have a much higher chance of survival. Let's hope the government is able to listen to the choir of independent businesses that this adversely affects"
Want Bristol news straight to your inbox?
Sign up to our daily newsletter using the box at the top of this article, or by clicking here to see all of our newsletters
Nathan Lee, co-founder of Hyde & Co Group, added: "We have eight hospitality businesses operating from properties of differing rateable values.
"The government grants are a key part of the package to enable us to envisage a future for our businesses when this crisis has passed.
"Without them we may have just walked away, dealing a sizeable blow to the community, our network of suppliers and our 150 employees.
"It seems bizarre to me that our larger sites, that employ more staff and contribute more to the economy, are penalised by not qualifying for the grant."
Keith Rundle, operations director at Bristol City Centre BID, believes access to the grant could be the difference between some Bristol venues opening again or closing for good.
He added: “This support simply doesn’t go far enough if it means help is out of the reach of some of our most popular and successful venues, which have had no choice but to close their doors for an unknown and significant duration.
“Bristol’s night life is one of the great things our city is famous for, but it’s now under threat like never before."
