Rural Business Rates relief

Find out about rural business rate relief and check if you are in an eligible area.

You could get rural rate relief if your business is in an eligible rural area with a population below 3,000.

Your business must also be:

  • the only village general store, food shop or post office, with a rateable value of up to £8,500

  • the only public house or petrol station, with a rateable value of up to £12,500

If there is more than one business in the area, both businesses can still apply if they are different types of business - for example, a public house and a food shop.

More about rural rate relief

Check if you are in an eligible area

You could get rural rate relief if your business is in an eligible rural area with a population below 3,000.

The population of rural settlements in the borough is shown in the table below.

Rural Settlement List
Name of Rural Settlement 2022/23 Population Electorate as of 1 Nov 2024
Ayot St Lawrence 87 81
Ayot St Peter 146 145
Brookmans Park 3046 3088
Cuffley/Northaw 4374 4344
Digswell 1323 1334
Essendon 670 681
Lemsford 537 546
Little Heath 1056 1048
Newgate Street 359 368
Oaklands & Mardley Heath 2579 2588
Welwyn 3441 3514
Welham Green 2964 2854
Woolmer Green 1127 1154

Contact us if you think you are eligible for rural rate relief.

Business Rates

We are open: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 8.45am-5.15pm Tuesday 10am-5.15pm Friday 8.45am-4.45pm

Address: Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Campus East
Welwyn Garden City
Hertfordshire
AL8 6AE

Telephone: 0333 034 3014