North West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Blackburn with Darwen UA
Businesses in Blackburn with Darwen UA paid £47.6m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Blackburn with Darwen UA
Share of £22.7m total relief, 2025-26.
Blackburn with Darwen UA at a glance
Blackburn with Darwen UA granted £22.7m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £10.4m in Small Business Rate Relief and £2.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £5.7m went to charity relief and £3.1m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Blackburn with Darwen UA has an estimated 5,555 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Blackburn with Darwen UA ranks 10 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of industrial property in Blackburn with Darwen UA rose by 25.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Blackburn with Darwen UA?
Blackburn with Darwen UA's local authority collected £47.6m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Blackburn with Darwen UA?
Blackburn with Darwen UA granted £22.7m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £10.4m in Small Business Rate Relief, £2.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £5.7m in charity relief, and £3.1m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Blackburn with Darwen UA compared with the North West and England
- Average rateable value
- £15,582£9,747 below the North West average (£25,329)£18,408 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 40.7%10.5 percentage points above its 30.2% share in the North West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +18.1%North West: +19.3%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
Blackburn with Darwen UA ranks 280th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £15,582, and 32nd of 35 in the North West. The same sector leads on numbers too: 45.3% of Blackburn with Darwen UA's rateable properties fall in the industrial category.
Retail makes up 21.4% of Blackburn with Darwen UA's rateable properties and 19.8% of its rateable value, both below the 25.1% and 22.4% across the North West. At March 2026, around 20 of Blackburn with Darwen UA's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 30 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Blackburn with Darwen UA's +18.1% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the North West: stronger than in 20 of the 34 other councils and weaker than in 14. The sharpest increase in Blackburn with Darwen UA was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 25.8% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +24.7% for industrial property across the North West. No sector fell in Blackburn with Darwen UA: office property moved least, up 8.2% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +14.6% for office property across the North West.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Blackburn with Darwen UA came to 32.6% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Blackburn with Darwen UA, at 45.8% of total relief, above 28.0% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Blackburn with Darwen UA compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in North West, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the North West
Other North West councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Blackburn with Darwen UA's £15,582.
- Business rates in Burnley£15,358 average rateable value, £224 lower than Blackburn with Darwen UA
- Business rates in Pendle£15,221 average rateable value, £361 lower than Blackburn with Darwen UA
- Business rates in Rossendale£14,685 average rateable value, £897 lower than Blackburn with Darwen UA
- Business rates in Westmorland and Furness£16,680 average rateable value, £1,098 higher than Blackburn with Darwen UA
- Business rates in Ribble Valley£17,964 average rateable value, £2,382 higher than Blackburn with Darwen UA
- Business rates in Wyre£18,294 average rateable value, £2,712 higher than Blackburn with Darwen UA
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Blackburn with Darwen
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