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Petition to Government for Increased Industry Support

Please click here to sign the petition.

Last year many antique and fine art dealers were forced to close their premises as a direct result of high rent and business rate increases, at a faster rate than in previous recessions. While the Chancellor's rethink on the previously tabled increase in business rates shows some sensitivity to the needs of businesses, it does not do enough to help this often overlooked sector.

Antiques.co.uk has created an online petition that will be submitted to the Government to lobby for increased support and encouragement for the industry in this time of need.

Please consider signing the petition. Your voice will go a long way to helping the industry as a whole and help keep the Antiques and Fine Art trade healthy and stable.

Once we have obtained as many signatures as possible we shall be delivering this petition to George Osborne and David Laws to gain their responses.

To submit your signature and comments to the petition, simply click here: Sign the Petition

A copy of the original letter as it appeared in The Times can be viewed here, whilst the current petition signatories can be viewed below.

There are currently 1086 signatures on the petition.

Name	Company	Date Signed	Comments
Rachael Jones		27/07/10	Too many people destroy works of art and wonderful antiques due to lack of knowledge
kenneth phillips		23/07/10	it is time landlords understand that if people abort their leases on property in theses times there are no other punters to take their place, therefore they will have no income at all, which will result in a significant rent void. surely, it is better to get something than nothing. it is time that the landlords and the local authoruties realised this and held back on rent and rate increases to enable people to weather this storm.
Fergus Reid	Smarts	23/07/10	I have given my backing to this protest.
Maureen Cunningham		16/07/10
B.G. NEWTON		11/07/10
Mrs Sheena Granger	Bespoke Auctions	01/07/10
matt stephens		14/06/10
Judi Wood	Megarrys Antiques	25/05/10	The antiques Trade like many small buisnesses. needs help in the present economic climate. It should be remembered that we are helping the economy by recycling and reusing existing resources,we are also employers. Rents,rates and electricity and wages are a huge expenditure, often leaving little resources for buying stock from an often suspicious and over optimistic public. Cash flow can be a real issue for many dealers and this situation is not helped by the difficulty of sourcing bank loans. Our heritage is being held to ransome, and if the present trend coninues, much of our antique heritage will be lost for ever.
Kevin Marshall	ANTIQUES WAREHOUSE	25/05/10
Gianfranco Serra	OUT OF THE ATTIC	25/05/10	I have been trading in Camden Passage for the last 10 years and have moved from gallery to gallery till there was no more galleries to go to due to the infiltration of clothes shops that bring nothing to the area or the residents. It appears to be so obvious a scam in so many cases with the vast increases in rent forcing honest traders out of business or just out of the area after so many years. I have managed to relocate but I can see how difficult and sometimes discouraging that can be. I support this petition and hope somebody eventually will listen to small businesses and take notice of their difficulties.
Martin Beazor	John Beazor and Sons Ltd.,	25/05/10	Small characterful businesses need care and protection
Emma Haw		25/05/10
Camilla Rodwell	The Hunter Gallery	25/05/10
Richard Temple	The Temple Gallery	25/05/10	Connoisseurship, taste and scholarship could be wiped out by trendy, celebrity-obsessed, ignorant popular culture.
Kevin Andrews	Brownhill Insurance Group	25/05/10
James Horne		24/05/10
Margaret Whitaker		17/05/10
MARK WAKELAM	MAW SERVICES	11/05/10	you should get rent free for keeping are heratige going without auctions we wouldent find reare items
Nathan Conroy		09/05/10	Hi, yes I support any thing that helps our heritage which also very much includes Antiques of all value,it also educates us from our past and our values of the past,hope this helps. sincerly Nathan.
Kerri Sant		07/05/10
Peter Vidgeon		26/04/10
Russell Theaker	The Cane & Rush Workshop	21/04/10
harry worth		14/04/10
Mathew Page		12/04/10
Gillian Horsup		10/04/10	Having being evicted from premises in Camden Passage twice, due to redevelopment, I am lucky to have found new premises - Many people have not been so lucky.
Lara Firth		09/04/10
Markus Sterling		06/04/10
Alida Sunderland		04/04/10	As the antiques business is actually an excellent re-cycling outlet which I thought the government was in support of - how about the government start to support these small businesses before the banks and supermarkets take over totally.
Susan Wickens		22/03/10
Penny Avery	Deja Vu	20/03/10	All small shop keepers need support in order to save our town centres.
Les Hall	Malvern Studios	19/03/10
Jeff Hall	Malvern Studios	19/03/10
Margaret de Havilland-Hall		18/03/10	This is a worthwhile cause and must be supported!
David Peters		17/03/10	Any small business needs our support after all most big business has been destroyed by government fiddling.
Erle Lanham-Ward		16/03/10
christopher jenkins		15/03/10
GODFREY OMER-PARSONS		15/03/10	LIKE MANY SMALL BUSINESSES THE ANTIQUES TRADE IS FACED WITH HIGH RENTS BUSINESS THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO ACT
MICHAEL FORRER	PRINCIPIA FINE ART	15/03/10	TO NEGLECT ARTEFACTS FROM THE PAST ISS TO DENY OUR HISTORY AND CULTURE
ANNIE THOMAS		15/03/10	THE TRAGEDIES OF BERMINDSEY AND PORTOBELLO
HARTY ROSENBERG		15/03/10
RICHARD DEUKIN		15/03/10
DON KELLY	DON KELLY BOOKS	15/03/10
JOYCE EPPS		15/03/10
TERRY BAKER		15/03/10
KATE HEPWORTH		15/03/10	WHAT IS HAPPENING IN PORTOBELLO IS A TRAGEDY, NARROW MINDED AND DISASTROUS FOR OUR INDUSTRY
Elizabeth Lanham		14/03/10	Small business is the payroll of Government take heed Darling!
David Crispin		12/03/10
Victor Judge		11/03/10	While fully supporting the aims of this petition,as a collector I am disenchanted by low valuations given by dealers on items,yet when attempting to purchase from dealers,they extoll the virtues of their similar commodities and quote prices 2-3 times greater. These are hard times for all,my partner hasn't had a pay increase for 3 years and recently had to accept a 12.5% pay cut. Cut a little slack to your customers and reduce your margins. To the sale rooms I say reduce your commission,15-25% to buyer and seller helps neither the trade or private buyer. You must do as much as possible to help yourselves as I'm afraid the Government will do too little too late.
John Jackson		09/03/10
barry smith		06/03/10

USEFUL LINKS:

Antiques & home insurance

You may already have home insurance to protect your property – but is it sufficient to cover the most valuable items in your home such as your antiques? Read our guide to find out more...

A short guide to valuing and protecting your lucky find, inheritance or antique investment. Click here

Old and worn? Find a conservator - click here