STRUGGLING small businesses in Worcester have hit out at the city council after it announced massive rises in the cost of their licence fees of up to 100 per cent.

Pet shops, riding stables and kennels will be hardest hit by the price rises, with the council deciding their licence fees should double next year – with further 100 per cent annual increases planned for several years to come.

High street beauty parlours offering massage and other treatments will see their fees rise by more than 50 per cent every year for the next three years, while taxi operators will pay 27 per cent more every year over the same period.

The cash-strapped council says it needs to increase fees to ensure its licensing operation breaks even, so saving the taxpayer about £50,000 a year.

But small businesses hit by the massive rises say that with the economic situation getting worse by the day, the council’s timing could not be any worse.

Pet shop owner Richard Carter, who runs Trinity Pet and Gardens on the Trinity in Worcester, said the huge rises in fees for pet shops would prevent him from selling animals.

“At the moment we only do pet food and supplies, but I was looking to expand to sell budgies and hamsters and so on,” he said. “But you'd have to sell a lot of hamsters to cover these sorts of costs. I certainly won't be going ahead now.”

Pet shops' annual £110 fee will rise by a further £110 every year for the forseeable future.

“They should be doing everything they can to help small businesses at the moment,” said Judy Owen, the owner of Friar Street beauty business You, whose £174 licence fee will rise by £95 per year for each of the next three years.

“Instead, it's like they're trying to drive us out of business. This sort of increase can have a very big effect. Every beauty business in Worcester is very small and this is just another tax.”

The council has by law to issue licences to certain types of businesses, and is allowed to charge what it estimates the cost of issuing each licence to be, allowing for staff time, inspections and other costs.

But issuing licences currently costs the city around £50,00 a year, and the council is desperate to close the gap.

The hefty price increases were agreed at the latest meeting of the city's cross-party licensing committee, by a vote of seven to two.

“I'm concerned that what are clearly commercial businesses have been subsidised by council tax payers for a number of years now,” said councillor Alan Amos.

“All we are asking of them is to pay the cost, the break-even point. We are not making any profit.

Obviously I'm concerned about the economic situation and the impact on small businesses, but given the council's own finances I'm not sure we should be subsidising these companies.”