SOUTH Hams people are being urged to show they care about their district's hard pressed businesses by signing up to an on-line protest petition.

South Hams Council has thrown its weight behind traders who are facing massive increases in their business rates bills in the coming year.

Dartmouth has been especially hard hit, but other towns are also facing increases in the rateable values of their premises of up to 350 per cent.

The council has launched its own government on-line petition.

So far the petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/businessrate/ has attracted 600 names, but more are needed if it is going to have the required impact.

Bill Hitchins, the council's deputy leader (pictured right), wants to encourage more people to join the fight.

He said: "The economic climate is not good at the moment and now is not the time to place another burden on businesses.

"How can local traders survive when faced with, in some cases, increases of more than 350 per cent?

"If we don't speak up now then it will be steamrollered through.

"If just one person from each household in the South Hams added their name to the petition that would be nearly 50,000 signatures. Surely the Government would have to take notice then."

Last month Totnes MP Anthony Steen took a delegation of businessmen and councilors to meet Minister for South West Jim Knight to spell out their rates plight.

The minister pledged he would press for a rate revaluation of Dartmouth.

The problem is over the latest re-evaluation of rateable values which happens every five years.

The rateable value of a property is based on its rentable value which in turn is based on real rents which are being charged. The government then sets a charge of so many pence in each pound of rateable value. If the rateable value goes up then so does the amount businesses have to pay.

The latest evaluation shows 60 per cent of the country's rateable values have actually fallen.

However, the South West has gone up considerably — second only to London in the whole country.

The council's Number 10 petition declared: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to not implement an increase in valuation of business premises in the current economic climate.

"South Hams Council, supported by its five local towns, has raised concerns with Jim Knight MP, Minister for the South West.

"There is real anguish at the response these announcements have had on local shop keepers. This at a time when trade is reflecting the recession, leading to the closure of many shops. The fear is in the present difficult economic times many more local shops will close and the future of struggling market towns will be further threatened."