Help Local Dog Boarders Reduce Barking Mad Licence Fees

We are micro-businesses and sole traders offering a very special, home-from-home, dog boarding experience for dog lovers. We are not massive kennel operators, yet the license fee doesn’t differentiate, and we are being asked to pay exactly the same fee as a Commercial Kennels. There are more than 110 micro businesses and sole traders across the Joint Public Protection Partnership area who may now be forced to close as a direct consequence of this license fee increase. We desperately don’t want to close because we are all passionate about the dogs we take care of and we pride ourselves in offering a unique boarding experience for our clients and their dogs.
As an example of the license increase we are facing: for the financial years 2018 - 20, the Bracknell Forest renewal licence fee was £119 per annum. From this year (2020-21), the Joint Public Protection Partnership increased the fee by a massive 375% to a total of £570 per annum. The fine laid down by DEFRA, for failing to obtain a licence, is set at £500 which is less than the total cost of renewal!
Such a large increase cannot be considered fair or justified and, is contrary to the principle that local government is there to help and support local businesses thrive. There was no consultation process with us as home boarding providers, and the Joint Public Protection Partnership did not provide affected businesses with any prior notification of the license fee increases. Many home boarding providers have a very low turnover, and are already struggling with a downturn in bookings caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; a significant number will be unable to pay. They will either be forced to cease trading or have to increase their prices considerably to cover this huge increase. And this is why it affects us all! Please sign this petition and help us to prevent this from happening.