Councillor hits out at landlords charging Rugby's shopkeepers high rents ahead of £100k boost to town centre

At this week’s (September 7) meeting of Rugby Borough Council’s cabinet, members signed off an agreement that will allocate £96,000 under the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund.

A report to the meeting explained that the funding has been allocated to local authorities to boost shops and businesses following the easing of restrictions.

It added that the cash, secured by the Government from the European Regional Development Fund, would be spent in four main areas.

These will include a communications campaign outlining the safety measures in place, a new website aimed at boosting independent businesses by offering online table bookings and click and collect, and the provision of hand sanitising units at town centre car parks and additional signage.

The scheme was given cross-party support but Lib Dem leader Cllr Jerry Roodhouse (Paddox) took the opportunity to hit out at out-of-town landlords charging high rents on commercial premises.

He said: “One of the concerns I have is independent traders and landlords who are still charging excessive rents for their properties.

“It is not always something we can do directly as a council but I know of one business that is packing up because of that.

"It gives me concern that we have landlords who don’t live in Rugby and they are looking to charge as much as they can.”