BBC: "Business rates seen holding back UK's high streets"

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"... If anyone can make a go of taking on one of the town's many empty shops, she can.

"An award-winning independent retailer, she already runs a successful boutique, Eternal Envy, in one of the borough's more affluent suburbs, Heaton Moor.

"The council is offering a big discount on the rent, along with a grant to help with set-up costs, but Maria is still not sure if she can break even.

"The biggest stumbling block is the cost of business rates."