Rural Rate Relief

You could get Rural Rate Relief if your business is in a rural area with a population below 3,000.

From 1 April 2023 you will not pay any business rates if your business is in an eligible area and is either:

the only village 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.

To check your eligibility and to apply for Rural Rate Relief, please contact the local council ;for your area:

Discretionary Rural Rate Relief is available if your property significantly benefits your local community and has a rateable value of less than £16,500.

Whether your application is successful is at the discretion of your local council.

West Suffolk Council

Rural settlement list 2024-25

(under s42A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988)

Businesses located within areas of West Suffolk Council shown in the second column below are deemed to be within a rural settlement – that is, having a population of less than 3000 at 31 December 2023.

All settlement boundaries are as set out in Forest Heath Local Plan Policies Map 2017 (page 3 of the Local Policies Plan Map Book):

Civic parish	Areas that are defined as 'rural settlements'
Ampton, Little Livermere and Timworth	All areas
Bardwell	All areas
Barnardiston	All areas
Barnham	All areas
Barningham	All areas
Barrow	All areas
Barton Mills	All areas
Beck Row, Holywell Row and Kenny Hill	All areas outside the Beck Row settlement boundary
Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield	All areas
Bradfield St Clare	All areas
Bradfield St George	All areas
Brandon and Wangford	All areas outside the Brandon settlement boundary
Brockley	All areas
Bury St Edmunds	All areas outside the Bury St Edmunds settlement boundary
Cavendish	All areas
Cavenham	All areas
Chedburgh	All areas
Chevington	All areas
Clare	All areas
Coney Weston	All areas
Cowlinge	All areas
Culford	All areas
Dalham	All areas
Denham	All areas
Denston	All areas
Depden	All areas
Elveden	All areas
Eriswell	All areas
Euston	All areas
Exning	All areas
Fakenham Magna	All areas
Flempton	All areas
Fornham All Saints	All areas
Fornham St Martin and Fornham St Genevieve	All areas
Freckenham	All areas
Gazeley	All areas
Great Barton	All areas
Great Bradley and Little Bradley	All areas
Great Livermere	All areas
Great Thurlow	All areas
Great Whelnetham	All areas
Great Wratting	All areas
Hargrave	All areas
Haverhill	All areas outside the Haverhill settlement boundary
Hawkedon	All areas
Hawstead	All areas
Hengrave	All areas
Hepworth	All areas
Herringswell	All areas
Higham	All areas
Honington	All areas
Hopton and Knettishall	All areas
Horringer and Ickworth	All areas
Hundon	All areas
Icklingham	All areas
Ingham	All areas
Ixworth and Ixworth Thorpe	All areas
Kedington	All areas
Kentford	All areas
Lackford	All areas
Lakenheath	All areas outside the Lakenheath settlement boundary
Lidgate	All areas
Little Thurlow	All areas
Little Whelnetham	All areas
Little Wratting	All areas
Market Weston	All areas
Mildenhall	All areas outside the Mildenhall settlement boundary
Moulton	All areas
Newmarket	All areas outside the Newmarket settlement boundary
Nowton	All areas
Ousden	All areas
Pakenham	All areas
Poslingford	All areas
Rede	All areas
Red Lodge	All areas outside the Red Lodge settlement boundary
Risby	All areas
Rushbrooke with Rougham	All areas
Santon Downham	All areas
Sapiston	All areas
Stansfield	All areas
Stanton	All areas
Stoke-by-Clare	All areas
Stradishall	All areas
The Saxhams	All areas
Thelnetham	All areas
Tro	All areas
Tuddenham	All areas
West Row	All areas
West Stow and Wordwell	All areas
Westley	All areas
Whepstead	All areas
Wickhambrook	All areas
Withersfield	All areas
Wixoe	All areas
Worlington	All areas

Increase in Rateable Value at 1 April 2023

Business rates increases are capped at £600 per year or £50 per month for 2023-24 if:

you were previously eligible for Rural Rate Relief, and
you have ceased to be eligible because of an increase in the rateable value of your property.