Mr. Martin Blackwell:

We have a different view. Our organisation, ATCM, does not represent a sector. We do not represent the retail sector or the property sector, but our role is to look after and support town centres. The concept mentioned by the Deputy was part of our manifesto for town centres in 2012. The government in London did not take any notice, but we did pitch it.

Business rates is one of the major issues under discussion in the United Kingdom. I gave evidence to a business innovation schools committee at Westminster and said business rates, as they stood, were no longer fit for purpose. A property based taxation system in the current trading environment does not work any more. This is the reason companies such as Starbucks buy their coffee beans in Switzerland because they find a way to get around the property based taxation system. I do not pretend to know what the answer is, but if we want to bring new businesses through, we have to find a way to support them. Tax breaks are interesting, but we probably need to look at the wider picture of the cost of operating in a town centre. It is generally more expensive; it takes longer to get permission to do anything and it is more difficult to do anything in a town centre than in an out-of-town centre. Finding ways to redress the balance would be worthwhile.