New legislation has been introduced to allow improved rate relief for struggling amateur sports clubs.

The new enabling powers, announced by Finance Minister Mervyn Storey, will allow the Department to put community sports on the same footing as community halls by granting 100% rate relief to unlicensed club premises and associated sporting facilities.

Minister Storey said: "I believe the proposals I am bringing forward strike the right balance in protecting local commercial interests and supporting the inspiring work that our amateur sports clubs do in our local areas.

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"This Bill also contains a new measure, suggested by a local businessman which will disregard the commercial use of window displays in empty shops to allow the shop to continue to be treated as vacant for rating purposes.

"This is a novel but modest initiative, which compliments other rating policies here. These include, the empty shops rates concession - which has helped 525 new ventures set up since 2012; a standard empty property rate of 50%, compared to 100% in England and Wales and 90% in Scotland; a regional rate freeze and the extension of small business rate relief for at least another year."

(CD/MH)