Following a unanimous decision made yesterday evening by Newport City Council, the majority of city centre businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business rates for the new financial year starting next month. The council will provide a 25% discount for city centre businesses in these sectors - including the likes of shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, gyms, live music venues, hairdressers, theatres and opticians - on top of the 75% business rates relief already offered by the Welsh Government to all businesses in these sectors across Wales. We are awaiting full details on how the scheme will operate, and will share these with BID members as soon as we have them.