Purley is being "unfairly treated" as a result of the most recent round of business rates revaluations.

Some business owners in Purley saw the amount of property tax they would have to pay double, and in some cases triple as a result of the the 2017 revaluation

In protest of these rises, at 10.30am on Friday, November 10, politicians and business owners will marching down Purley High Street as they object to the way the town has been treated.

Karen Tyne, 47, has lived in Purely since she was 15.

After her business - Diane's Hair and Beauty - was handed a 58 per cent rate increase, she said she was devastated.

"It just seems so unfair," she said.

"You look at some of the bigger stores around Croydon town centre and the increase was hardly noticeable.

"If you want to keep Purley going, this isn't the way to do it."

Ms Tyne said a protest was all they had left.

"We have to try something," she said.

"We're all struggling for trade down here, but you just have to swallow it.

"I couldn't bear passing the cost on to my customers. Purely people are wonderful and they come back time after time, it just wouldn't be fair to them."

On average from 2016 to 2017, rates increased for Purley businesses 53 per cent.

This included five businesses where the rates more than doubled in a year.

As a town, Purley also had a larger increase than every local authority in the country, except West Somerset.

MP for Croydon South Chris Philp is backing the protest, and will be heading down on Friday to march with everyone else.

"Although the overall business rates bill across the UK is staying the same, some areas are seeing big increases and Purley is one of those.

"I think that the Valuation Office has made a mistake in estimating the values incorrectly across the whole of Purley and I will be writing to them to ask them to look again at Purley and reduce the rateable values.

"I successfully lobbied the Government earlier this year for a £400m rates relief fund to help businesses affected by large increases. Croydon has been allocated £1.8m of this money so far, and I expect the council to use this money to help businesses in Purley."

The most recent revaluation of the rating of commercial premises in England and Wales came into effect on April 1, 2017. This involves all properties being given a rateable value (RV) based largely on the rental values prevailing at April 2015, with business rates calculated by applying the Uniform Business Rate multiplier.

The 2017 revaluation also raised the threshold at which small businesses begin to pay rates under the small business rate relief scheme: from premises with RVs of less than £6,000 to those of £12,000.

A spokeswoman for the Valuation Office Agency said: “Rateable values are based on an open market rental value on a fixed date - for the most recent revaluation it’s 1 April 2015.

"If those open market values have changed, then rateable values will change with them.

"If any ratepayer thinks the details we hold about their property are incorrect, they can see exactly how their valuation has been calculated and update underlying facts, if needed, by registering with our check and challenge service.”