BUSINESS owners in Caerphilly county borough passed up the chance to have their say on the council's annual budget plans - which include halving business grants - for the second year in a row.

A meeting set up to give them the opportunity to talk face to face with councillors ended after 15 minutes because no one turned up.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s non-domestic ratepayers committee meets just once a year and offers business representatives the chance to discuss the budget proposals.

The meeting has to be held by law - but no-one has turned up, apart from the councillors who sit on the committee - since 2018, when two representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses attended.

Protocol for the committee members is to wait 15 minutes to see if any representatives do turn up, but no one did.

All three councillors on the committee attended the meeting, including chairman Cllr James Pritchard, Cllr Gez Kirby and Cllr Eluned Stenner.

“I am extremely disappointed the various business groups didn’t turn up again for this important meeting," said Cllr Pritchard.

“It is important that the business community is involved in the decision-making process.”

Section 65 of the Local Government Act 1992 cites that such a meeting must be held, and letters and reminder emails were sent by the council local business groups, and a press release was issued.

However, conflicting schedules meant many were unable to attend.

This means business representatives have missed out on having their say on key proposals, including a cut to business grants by 50 per cent.

The consultation period allowed all relevant stakeholders, including business owners and members of the public, to have their say on the budget proposals before a final decision is made.

Caerphilly council’s consultation period ended on January 13.