Retailers in a small village are worried that impending changes to their business rates will spell the end for independent and family-run shops on the high street.

Due to come into effect on Saturday, the new formula for calculating business rates means shop owners will be charged depending on their property’s rental value rather than their turnover.

This means businesses which turn a small profit yet have a fairly large shop floor will see their rates rise dramatically, while businesses which make more profit yet have smaller retail footprints will have to pay less and, in some cases, nothing at all.

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Jeff Folkins and Claire Carpentier have been running the adjoining Dalling and Co wine merchant and delicatessen in High Street, Kings Langley, for nearly eight years.

Their business rates are set to rise by around 30 per cent over the next two years, a move made all the more galling by the fact that some other shops in the area will see their rates reduced to zero.

“We can’t accept it because some business are paying nothing – we are paying the business rates of two or three shops in the village,” said Mr Folkins.

“The government are saying they stand for small businesses and support the high street but they are crushing us from every side.

“There was nothing on this high street when we moved in – eight shops were empty. A few shop owners said they wouldn’t have started up if we hadn’t moved in.

“If we go, 17 people will lose their jobs. A lot of our customers are really up in arms about it.”

He says the new system is “outdated and arcane”, adding: “Just because you have more square footage doesn’t mean you have more turnover.”

Ms Carpentier said the impending rates increase, coupled with a recent rent hike, means prices would inevitably rise.

She said: “There’s only so much you can charge for a cup of coffee. When we put prices up we’ll say ‘this is because the government are taking it off us’.

“The councils have my sympathy – they are just the collectors – but no-one wants to deal with the issue.”

Karen Hearn, who runs Home ‘Chic’ Home, also in High Street, said it had been a “double whammy” with rents and business rates both rising within a short space of time.

“They are going to have empty shops. We are only a village – we won’t be able to survive,” she said.

“How they work it out needs to change. I think everyone should contribute. How is it fair that some people should pay nothing?

“I’m basically working for my landlord and the council.”

Andrew Williams, leader of Dacorum Borough Council, sympathised with businesses but said the council was not in a position to set the charge.

He said: “There is very little the council can do. We are collectors on behalf of the Government.

“I fully appreciate that for some businesses the figures are quite severe, and I feel sorry for the way it has been done.

“If we want to keep a semblance of a high street then the Government needs to take notice that business rates are a real issue.”

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, said he was aware of the problems in Kings Langley.

“Every case is different, so I am happy to take up any individual case but they will need to be on an individual basis,” he added.