Traders working in the North Yorkshire town of Skipton have spoken out about their struggles, six months after it was named the happiest place to live in the UK. Despite the accolade from property website Rightmove, many business owners say the reality of working there is far from joyful.
Rightmove's Happy at Home Index
Last year, Skipton topped Rightmove's Happy at Home Index, praised for its affordability with an average house price of around £326,093. Colleen Babcock, Rightmove's property expert, said: "It's great to see the town of Skipton getting the attention it deserves this year having ranked highly in previous studies."
Struggles of market traders
Around six months on, some residents and workers have shared the difficulties they face. Currently, there are 45 regular traders and 35 irregular traders operating in Skipton's market. The main challenges include the rise of online shopping, which has reduced in-person spending, and high business rates.
Mohammed Saghir, who has worked in Skipton for 40 years and owns Riviera Boutique, blamed the shift to online shopping and criticised business rates. He said traders are effectively paying the government "for providing free air." Business rates are a tax on commercial properties such as offices, pubs, and shops.
Mohammed also lamented that independent shopkeepers lack a "single voice" as they are "scattered" across the country.
Echoed concerns
Other traders echoed his concerns. Some noted that customers buy goods from abroad because they are not made in the UK, such as furniture. Market trader Mark Howard highlighted that supermarkets selling cheap clothes also hurt local businesses.
Pressure on the government
These anxieties come as pressure mounts on the Labour government to reform the business rates system, which raises around £28.8 billion annually for local governments. Rising costs and inflation have pushed many businesses to the brink of closure.
Parliamentary research by Oxford University's Professor Ben Lockwood and King's College London's Dr. Eddy Tam suggests that lowering business rates for smaller hospitality and retail businesses could improve storefront occupancy and support economically active areas.
In the research, the professors stated: "The researchers found that a 1 percentage point reduction in the tax rate via SBRR increased the likelihood that a property is occupied by a small business by 1.06% and reduced the chance it is occupied by a large business by 0.53%."
