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Mark Field highlights plight of Cecil Court, where business-rate rises are driving shops 'to the edge'

The "dire situation" for the booksellers of London's Cecil Court will be highlighted today by local MP Mark Field as he calls on the government to defer the business rate rises he fears could force them out of business.
Cecil Court, a 17th-century sidestreet off Charing Cross Road, is home to around 20 different businesses, from rare and antiquarian booksellers to map and children's book specialists. Tim Bryars, who runs an antique map, book and print shop and is secretary of the Cecil Court Association, said his business rate bill had rocketed from £4,325.72 last year to £7,696 this year. "I'm paying almost double what I was paying last year," he said. "This kind of rate increase is going to drive people right to the edge."