Businesses can exhale a sigh of relief as rates will be eased for eligible traders.

The big winners are shops, restaurants, cafes and drinking establishments as they will be offered retail relief of up to £1,000 a year for the next two years if they have a rateable value of less than £50,000.

The discretionary business rates reductions were outlined in chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement last year to support smaller businesses.

Councils were handed the power to apply the reliefs on behalf of central government.

Redbridge Council’s cabinet approved the proposal during its meeting last week.

Cllr Bond said: “It will provide extra relief to smaller businesses and in particular retailers many of which have been struggling.

“We will try and encourage businesses to take it up.”

Retail relief will apply from April 1 and eligible businesses must apply to the council.

Also introduced is an empty retail relief of 50 per cent to be given to businesses that move into retail premises that have been empty for more than a year.