Covering running costs - business rates relief withdrawn

We’re a small charitable group trying to do the ‘Big Society’ thing by taking an interest in and preserving the local history of our market town – as such we have virtually no income except what we can get from small grants. 

Unfortunately as most of you will know it is next to impossible to get grants to cover ‘running costs’ (they are normally available for capital costs only) but we do need somewhere to keep our collection of 3,500 items and somewhere to work on them if we are to use them for community purposes like workshops for local schools, open days etc. 

Just last week I was told by our local district council that as of 2013 they are withdrawing the discretionary element of our business rates relief. Now we make no use of local services – we actually try and provide some local services like school workshops etc – but as of 2013 we will need to find another £250 – £300 each year to keep the local district council in the style to which its officers have become accustomed. 

I really do wonder why myself and my committee do voluntarially give a lot of our time and effort (and worry) to help provide Big Society input when we have these burdens heaped gratuitously on us. The same district council (which is not in a poor area of the country) is also proposing to abolish a significant proportion of local library services.