Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart has visited Tickton Grange to hear directly from local hospitality leaders about the pressures facing businesses across East Yorkshire.
During the visit Graham met Callum Williams, Manager, and Paul Whymant, Chairman, to discuss the challenges facing the popular country house hotel and the wider pressures on firms across Beverley and Holderness.
Tickton Grange is a well-known local employer and an important part of the rural economy. Businesses like it provide jobs for local people, support nearby suppliers and help attract visitors to the area. Like many hospitality businesses, however, it is facing growing pressure from rising costs and tightening margins.
The pressure on local businesses
Businesses across Beverley and Holderness have been warning Graham about rising costs, including higher taxes, increasing employment costs and rising business rates.
Recent examples include the fivefold business rates increase facing Long Riston Services, the family petrol station that has served the community since the 1940s, and the £27,000 rates rise at Beverley family venue Jack in the Box.
Concerns raised by local firms through Graham’s constituency business survey have reinforced the same message: many businesses feel the cumulative impact of rising costs is making it harder to invest, expand and take on new staff.
Why it matters
Hospitality businesses play a vital role in rural communities.
Hotels, pubs and restaurants create local jobs, bring visitors into the area and provide work for local suppliers ranging from farmers and food producers to tradespeople and service companies.
When costs rise sharply across the sector, the effects ripple through the wider local economy.
Listening locally, raising it nationally
Backing local businesses and pushing for the right conditions for them to grow has been a central focus of Graham’s work in Parliament.
Over recent months he has been meeting employers across Beverley and Holderness to hear directly about the pressures they face and raising those concerns repeatedly with ministers.
Businesses have told him about the cumulative impact of rising taxes, higher employment costs, increasing business rates, energy bills and growing regulatory pressure, all of which make it harder to invest, expand and create jobs.
Graham has been taking those concerns directly to Westminster. He recently raised the case of Long Riston Services, the family petrol station facing a fivefold business rates increase, warning ministers about the pressure rising costs are placing on small independent businesses.
He has also spoken out for Jack in the Box in Beverley, the family venue that saw its business rates rise sharply, arguing that businesses supporting families should receive the same support as pubs and other hospitality venues that already benefit from relief.
Alongside raising individual cases in Parliament, Graham has launched a constituency business survey ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget, gathering evidence directly from local firms about the barriers they face to growth.
That feedback has reinforced the message he heard during his visit to Tickton Grange: businesses want government to understand the pressures they face and create the right conditions for growth.
Graham said: “Tickton Grange is a superb local business and a big part of the local economy. It supports jobs, brings visitors into our area and helps sustain other local businesses too.
“When I speak to employers across Beverley and Holderness, I hear the same message again and again. Costs are rising, pressure is increasing and too often government simply does not seem to understand what businesses are dealing with.
“I have been listening to businesses locally and raising those concerns in Parliament, whether that is the fivefold rates shock facing Long Riston Services, the unfair pressure on family venues like Jack in the Box, or the wider concerns local employers have raised through my business survey.
“Small independent businesses are the backbone of our local economy. When they succeed, our whole community succeeds.
“I will keep standing up for the businesses that keep Beverley and Holderness going.”
Standing up for local businesses
Graham has consistently worked to stand up for local businesses, jobs and economic growth across Beverley and Holderness.
In recent months he has highlighted the fivefold business rates shock facing Long Riston Services, campaigned for fairness after a £27,000 business rates rise at Beverley family venue Jack in the Box, and argued that family venues should receive the same support as pubs when it comes to business rates relief.
He has also backed plans to scrap business rates for thousands of high street businesses, launched a business survey to gather evidence from local employers ahead of the Budget, and spoken repeatedly about the importance of creating the right conditions for businesses to invest and grow.
Beyond business rates, Graham has campaigned to stop a fuel duty rise hitting rural drivers and businesses, defended first jobs for young people entering the workforce, and argued that the country’s number one economic priority must be economic growth.
He has also worked locally to strengthen the wider business environment, helping secure the Hedon Cash Hub to protect access to cash for local businesses, ensuring Lloyds remained open in Hedon until the new hub is ready, and speaking up for local jobs when major employers such as Vivergo faced uncertainty.
Through regular visits to employers across the constituency, meetings with hospitality businesses such as Tickton Grange and ongoing engagement with local firms, Graham continues to listen to the challenges businesses face and raise those concerns directly with ministers in Westminster.
