Businesses question the cost of Crossrail (From Surrey Comet)

Businesses question the cost of Crossrail

3:59pm Monday 24th December 2007 in Kingston By Alita Howe

Businesses in Kingston want to know why they are being asked to pay the same as those in Canary Wharf towards the Crossrail project - even though it doesn't run through the borough.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to impose a two per cent levy to help pay for the line through a supplementary business rate (SBR).

The line runs from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, into Essex and Kent in the east but steers well clear of Kingston.

Two thirds of Kingston businesses already pay a one per cent levy for the Business Improvement District and town centre manager Graham McNally said he would meet with the mayor to see if the BID levy could be offset against the two per cent SBR.

"Our position is that the £700,000 to £800,000 we receive from the one per cent BID levy is fundamentally important to the wellbeing of Kingston," he said.

"It is not fair or appropriate for retailers to pay the same towards the cost of Crossrail as a retailer located in Canary Wharf."

Mr McNally said he was concerned that with businesses facing a possible three per cent levy, they would vote against renewing Kingston's BID next winter.

"It has delivered real hard increases in retail figures and three successive years of crime reduction because businesses, police and the local authority are working together on this great idea."

Lisa Gagliani, chief executive of Kingston Chamber of Commerce, said businesses in Kingston that had benefited from the BID with their contribution being well spent. She said the good work started by the BID needed to be sustained. She added the chamber felt if the Crossrail SBR was introduced, that proportion would decrease.

"So, the chamber, council and Kingston First are united in trying to negotiate that Kingston's businesses are either exempt from the Crossrail levy, or that the mayor supports a major work in Kingston that will offset the payment," she said.

A spokesman for the mayor said all businesses in the capital would benefit from the improved transport links to "major job creating areas" in the West End, City and Isle of Dogs.

He would not say whether the mayor would agree to Mr McNally's proposal to offset the levy.

"Many more people in London and the south east will be able to work in these centres as a result of Crossrail and go on to spend their wages in places such as Kingston. It is right that a contribution to Crossrail should be made by those who will benefit," he said.

"The mayor will also look to bolster Business Improvement Districts, which have been very successful in those places where they have been set up, as the renaissance of Kingston town centre demonstrates."

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