THE idea of lowering business rates in Boscombe to try and fill empty shop units could be considered by town hall chiefs.

The suggestion has been made by Boscombe West councillor Phil Stanley-Watts, who believes there is scope under the new Localism Act for councils to vary the business rates they charge.

Deputy council leader John Beesley has said they would explore the idea but warned it may not be a practicable solution.

Cllr Stanley-Watts said: “Business rate discounts in the Boscombe area could help encourage people to come to Boscombe.

“There’s a lot of empty shops there, especially with the loss of TJ Hughes, and we need to attract new people into the area.”

The Localism Act came into force earlier this month and has major ramifications for local councils and the way they operate.

Cllr Beesley said: “It’s certainly something we would like but we wouldn’t want to get diverted away from some of the other things we’re putting into.

“Many of these headline initiatives sound great but when you study them closely you realise they come with extra responsibilities that can be very costly.

“Plus, offering reduced business rates to new businesses might not be fair to existing businesses who could be struggling themselves.

“We would not want to disadvantage any existing businesses.”