'Doubling of rent will end our business'
BBCA cafe and general store says its future is hanging in the balance after its rent was more than doubled overnight.
Heaton Perk Cafe has been on Heaton Park Road in Newcastle for 18 years and its owners opened 109 General Store five years ago.
The store's director Graham Tarr claimed a council scheme which saw new businesses get a start-up grant and take over empty shops at a higher rent was driving the sudden rise.
Newcastle City Council said businesses had "long benefited from terms beneath market value, which is also unfair for market-level paying businesses, and this is about being consistent across our portfolio".
109 General Store opened its doors on Heaton Park Road in 2020 to help reduce plastic and allow people to shop in a more eco-friendly way. It provides dried and fresh foods, unpackaged, as well as refill options of cleaning and beauty products.
Mr Tarr, 61, said existing tenants could not benefit from the start-up scheme aimed at new businesses.
"Now the council thinks it's established this new rent of £12,500 a year for these shops, they want all the existing tenants out so they can find new people to put in at the inflated rent."
The rent rise could be the end of the store and cafe, claimed store manager Robert Braniff.
The 50-year-old told BBC Radio Newcastle "the business model just isn't prepared for this overnight".
"And Heaton Perk is a community centre, for people who live alone, older people," he said. "Every day it's full, they love it."
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: "We recognise the impact Heaton Perk and 109 General Store have had, and we've made extensive effort to engage their respective leaseholders throughout this process to support them in any way we can.
"We have to manage the council's commercial properties to achieve best value, and this may sometimes result in rent increases. We simply don't have the resources to be able to subside the costs of commercial businesses.
"While we appreciate these are challenging times for businesses, rental increases are only made in line with fair market conditions."