East of England · 2025-26
Business Rates in Three Rivers
Businesses in Three Rivers paid £57.6m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Three Rivers
Share of £16.0m total relief, 2025-26.
Three Rivers at a glance
Three Rivers granted £16.0m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £1.5m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.4m went to charity relief and £2.5m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Three Rivers has an estimated 5,475 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Three Rivers ranks 273 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 office property in Three Rivers rose by 13.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Three Rivers?
Three Rivers's local authority collected £57.6m 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 Three Rivers?
Three Rivers granted £16.0m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £1.5m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.4m in charity relief, and £2.5m 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.
Three Rivers compared with the East of England and England
- Average rateable value
- £56,444£24,309 above the East of England average (£32,135)£22,454 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 46.7%13.8 percentage points above its 32.9% share in the East of England
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +4.9%East of England: +18.3%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
Three Rivers ranks 23rd of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £56,444, and 4th of 45 in the East of England. The largest group of Three Rivers's rateable properties is office property (31.0%), yet other commercial property holds the largest share of value (46.7%).
Retail makes up 18.6% of Three Rivers's rateable properties and 8.1% of its rateable value, both below the 20.6% and 18.7% across the East of England. At March 2026, around 30 of Three Rivers's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Three Rivers's +4.9% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in all 44 other councils in the East of England. The sharpest increase in Three Rivers was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 22.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +20.2% for industrial property across the East of England. Other commercial property had the weakest result in Three Rivers, with total rateable value down 7.0% at the 2026 revaluation, against +22.9% for other commercial property across the East of England.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Three Rivers came to 24.7% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Three Rivers, at 21.4% of total relief, below 29.7% 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 Three Rivers compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in East of England, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the East of England
Other East of England councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Three Rivers's £56,444.
- Business rates in Stevenage£54,699 average rateable value, £1,745 lower than Three Rivers
- Business rates in Hertsmere£54,139 average rateable value, £2,305 lower than Three Rivers
- Business rates in Watford£53,441 average rateable value, £3,003 lower than Three Rivers
- Business rates in Welwyn Hatfield£61,945 average rateable value, £5,501 higher than Three Rivers
- Business rates in Thurrock UA£76,302 average rateable value, £19,858 higher than Three Rivers
- Business rates in Cambridge£83,087 average rateable value, £26,643 higher than Three Rivers
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Three Rivers
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