Business

Our inward investment support aims to assist existing businesses located in the district with their growth plans, as well as companies considering new investment or relocation into the District.

We work with developers, asset managers and investors to identify commercial development opportunities and assist in their delivery. We provide support investment in major infrastructure including Road, Rail, Telecommunications and Power.

To discuss proposals in confidence please contact: Shawn Riley, Head of Economic Development on 01386 565518 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Use the links below to find the information you need:

• Major Growth Locations
• Town Centre Regeneration
• Major Infrastructure Project
• South Worcestershire Development Plan Review

Major commercial growth locations

Vale Business Park South, Evesham 

Vale Park is a destination for business in a thriving industrial and logistics community in the heart of the UK, located in the shadow of the Cotswold escarpment, directly on the A46 Trans Midland Trade Corridor next to the thriving and growing community of Eves

View Vale Business Park South website

Worcester Six Business Park, M5 Junction 6

Located in the high profile location at Junction 6 of the M5 motorway Worcester Six Business Park  offers design and build opportunities both To Let and For Sale – Offices from 10,000sqft (929 sqm), Industrial / Technology from 20,000sqft to 500,000sqft (1,858sqm to 46,452sqm).

View Worcester Six Business Park website

Droitwich Business Parks

Droitwich is in the north of the district and benefits from its proximity to J5 M5 and the Greater Birmingham conurbation. The area specialises in high tech engineering, health technologies and distribution. The area offers a selection of business parks accommodating large and small occupiers including Berry Hill, Stonebridge Cross and Hampton Lovett. The construction of new business units is underway at Salwarpe Road, pdf read the Salwarpe road property brochure for more details (2.80 MB) .

Town Centre Regeneration

Plans are being drawn up to help shape the future of the district’s high streets. Wychavon is investing £150,000 to create prospectuses for Droitwich, Evesham and Pershore town centres, which will be used to attract future investment and influence development proposals.

Members of Wychavon’s Town Centres Advisory Panel, made up of councillors, officers and co-opted individuals with relevant expertise, are helping to draw up the plans. Panel members have carried out visits to each town centre to identify key issues and gather feedback from a range of stakeholders.

A study of each town centre has also been carried out to help inform new policies, to support high streets as part of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review. View South Worcestershire Development Plan website

The study found that despite challenging conditions for traders, Droitwich and Pershore are performing reasonably well when compared to the national average, however, Evesham is facing tougher challenges.

These include the threat from out of town retail centres, traffic flow and congestion as well as the decline of the Riverside Shopping Centre. The positive news is that shopping centre owners Chase Commercial are working on a wider redevelopment plan with a planning application expected to be submitted in the near future.

• This will support their successful revamp of Market Square which has helped reinvigorate Evesham’s night-time economy. The study also identified the need for an additional health and fitness facility and the potential for a small-scale cinema in the town by 2029.
• Pershore Town Centre is also performing better than average with the focus on the need to increase footfall to the north of the high street and maintaining its range of independent and distinctive traders.
• In Droitwich, the study found the town centre would benefit from more leisure and shopping, including an additional restaurant and café. Working with owners of the Raven Hotel to help support its re-occupation or redevelopment was also seen as key.

Major Infrastructure Projects

A46 Partnership

Promoting investment in this major link between the South West and North East of England. Find out more information on the A46 Partnership on the Gloucestershire County Council website.

Worcestershire Parkway

New Station located at the crossing  of the Worcester to London Paddington and Birmingham to Bristol, this station has parking for 500 cars and great cycle and public transport access to Worcester City and the surrounding area. View more information on the Worcestershire County Council website .

Superfast Worcestershire Broadband

We're bringing fast, fibre broadband to homes and businesses across Worcestershire. Superfast Worcestershire is a programme to bring superfast broadband to 96% of homes and businesses in the county by the end of 2019. The network is transforming broadband speeds across Worcestershire, especially its rural areas. 

South Worcestershire Development Plan Review 

The South Worcestershire Councils (SWC) i.e. Malvern Hills, Worcester City and Wychavon started a review of the SWDP in late 2017. This is in line with new Government requirements that local plans should be updated every five years, and therefore a revised SWDP is required by 2021. The review will provide an updated plan period to the year 2041.

Proposals made by planners as part of the South Worcestershire Development Plan Review (SWDP) include 140 hectares of new employment land across the district up to 2041.

The proposals are on top of investment sites and opportunities already allocated under the existing SWDP which runs to 2030. These include:

• Vale Park South located off the A46 at Evesham. Planning permission has already been secured for the development of 7,900sqm of B1, B2 & B8 units, with work due to start this Autumn. Another 9.3 hectares is available as part of the next phase of the development, which is already attracting significant interest due to Evesham’s strategic location and access to local engineering skills;
• Worcester Six Business Park, which provides an unrivalled opportunity across the West Midlands for new, sustainable buildings that will enable businesses to thrive in a world class location;
• Stonebridge Cross Business Park off the A442 at Droitwich, just four miles from Junction 5 of the M5. This fully services, 77 acre business park provides a high quality business setting for occupiers to grow their business. Units are designed to a high standard with separate car parking and service yards to each building.

Supporting this planned expansion of employment land is proposals for another 14,000 new homes across the South Worcestershire area by 2041, with the bulk being directed at two strategic locations in Wychavon.

A new town of up to 10,000 homes and 60 Hectares of employment land is planned at Worcestershire  Parkway with 5,000 (40 ha) planned before 2041. The parkway development will support the new railway station, set to open in December 2019, which will provide an enhance rail service into Worcester, Bristol, Birmingham and London.

A new town of 2,000 homes and 20 hectares of employment land is also planned during the same period at Throckmorton Airfield with the potential for further expansion in the future.

Wychavon benefits from being part of Worcestershire, one of the most beautiful parts of the country, making it an attractive place to live and work. Some 62% of the people living in or around the county are of working age, while local machine manufacturing and engineering employment is 85% above the England average.

There is also access to a highly skilled local workforce, with four times as many people working in high-tech manufacturing when compared to the regional average.

For more information about investing in Wychavon and Worcestershire, please visit the invest in Worcestershire website.

Business rates are paid by occupiers of most business properties to local councils, for the contribution to the costs of local services.

If you have had a change in your circumstances which will impact your Business Rates account, please advise us by completing our online Change in Circumstances form

See the information below for help paying your bill.

Log into Open Portal (Previously Self Service) - Pay your Business Rates bill, tell us about a change of address and view your paperless e-billing. 

View our Appeals page - If you are not happy with a decision made about your rateable value or your liability to pay a bill.

Find out how to pay - Options to pay your business rates

Learn about business rates relief - Your property may be eligible for discounts from the local council on your business rates.

Find out how to contact us - Get in touch with us to discuss business rates.

Background

• Business Rates were introduced on 1 April 1990 at which time all Business premises were valued and their Rateable Values were entered into a local rating list.
• The Business Rate legislation allows for business properties to be revalued every 5 years. This is called a revaluation. The last revaluation took place in 1 April 2017.
• The new revaluation takes effect from 1 April 2023.

Calculation of business rates

• The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) (an agency of HM Revenues and Customs) sets the rateable value of business premises. The rateable value is shown on the front of the bill. The amount represents the annual rent that the property could be let for in the open market, on a particular date.
• The rateable value and the business rating multiplier (set by central government) is used to calculate your business rates bill (see multiplier table, below). If your rateable value is lower than £51,00 use the small business multiplier.

• Multiply your rateable value by your multiplier, to show you how much you need to pay minus any business rates relief.
• Read the Business Rates General Explanatory Notes 2024/25

Sign up for e-billing

We can send your Business Rates bills to you by email instead of through the post. See below for details.

The benefits of e-Billing

• You will receive your bill as soon as it is available
• It saves paper so is better for the environment
• It helps to reduce council spending by saving printing and postage costs
• You still have the option to print your bill or forward a copy to someone if you need to.

How to sign up for e-Billing

There are three ways to sign up for e-Billing:

• Send an email from the address you would like us to use with ‘Yes to e-Billing’ in the subject line and include your name and council tax account number (on your bill) or your address. Send your email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or you can register for our online Self Service account facility which includes e-Billing sign up and lets you view full details of your account
• Or you can call 03004 560 560 and ask to sign up for e-Billing.

What happens next?

• Once you have signed up for e-billing we will send future council tax bills to you by email unless you ask us to stop
• You must tell us if you change your email address
• We will contact you if our emails to you cannot be delivered because your email address is invalid.