Occupied premises, wholly or mainly being used as a pub or as a live music venue, may be eligible for a 15% Pub and Live Music (PLM) Venue Relief from 1 April 2026 to 1 April 2027.
The 15% award of PLM has been set by government.
The government has also advised PLM premises that meet the eligibility criteria will have their business rates bills frozen in real terms, from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029.
PLM is treated as a discretionary relief awarded by us. Premises deemed to meet the eligibility criteria have been awarded 15% PLM relief from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 and, if eligible, the ‘Pub and Live Music Venues Relief’ is shown on the 2026/2027 business rates bill. The government has issued guidance to local authorities, to qualify for PLM. To determine qualification, the following guidance has been used.
If your business is deemed eligible, Dorset Council has automatically applied PLM relief and it will be shown on your 2026/2027 bill.
Eligibility criteria
To be considered for the PLM relief, premises must be occupied and meet all the conditions for the chargeable day.
Pubs
To be considered for PLM relief, all the following conditions must be met.
The premises:
- is wholly or mainly used as a pub
- is open to the general public
- allows free entry, other than when occasional entertainment is provided
- allows drinking, without requiring food to be consumed
- allows drinks to be purchased at a bar
The following are excluded from receiving PLM relief:
- restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars
- hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses
- sporting venues
- festival sites, theatres, cinemas
- museums, exhibition halls
- casinos
- any cases where we deem the premises ineligible or where eligibility is unclear
Live music venues
Live music venues are deemed to be:
- premises wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience
- premises used for other activities only where:
- those other activities are ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music, for example, the sale of food or drink to audience members
- the activities do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music. For example, the activities are infrequent, such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event
The following Live Music Venues are excluded from receiving PLM relief:
- where a property is wholly or mainly used as, a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended)
If you think you are eligible but PLM relief is not on your bill
If, having read the eligibility criteria above, you believe you are eligible for PLM and the relief is not shown on your 2026/2027 business rates bill, please email [email protected] giving:
- the reference number shown on your bill
- your reasons why you believe you meet the eligibility criteria
If the premises is a club, please provide:
- the club licence
- full club membership rules and
- a contact name and telephone number
The relief is not subject to any cap or the Minimal Financial Assistance limit in Subsidy Control.
If eligible, the Pub and Live Music Venue relief will be applied after:
- improvement relief
- transitional relief
- mandatory relief and discretionary reliefs (other than locally funded schemes)