BOLTON and Bury Chamber is celebrating its role in a national campaign to persuade the Government to drop its proposals for a local supplementary business rate in favour of 'US style' Business Improvement Districts.

The government U-turn follows months of campaigning on behalf of members by the British Chamber network.

The proposal, which would have given local authorities the ability to levy

a supplement on the business rate without the consent of the business community, was met with fierce opposition by local companies, who made their voice heard in government via Bolton and Bury Chamber.

Estimates had put the cost of the rate to business at £2.75 billion over five years -- with a bill in excess of £1 billion per year thereafter.

Andrew Ratcliff, Chief Executive of Bolton and Bury Chamber, said: "The Government's new scheme will be much more palatable to local businesses and reflects the Chambers' preferred option of American-style Business Improvement Districts.

"These are local business-led projects which are designed to tackle local problems identified by the business community.

"Crucially, the new proposal gives business the opportunity to vote on whether a Business Improvement District goes ahead.

"We are delighted that the Government has listened to Britain's 135,000-strong Chamber movement and is developing a workable alternative."

He went on: "The supplementary business rate proposal was poorly thought out from the outset and would have increased the tax burden on business and threatened the relationship between business and local authority.

"The new proposals are what Chambers of Commerce have been advocating and we will now be looking very closely at the detail and talking to our partners in the Local Authority to ensure that the proposed scheme meets the real needs of local companies."