The Chicken and Frog to close as Brentwood rates nearly triple

By Olivia Hart

The Chicken and Frog will close in Brentwood town centre in January after 14 years, owner Natasha Radford says. She attributes the decision to annual business rates rising from £2,868 in 2024 to £8,435 this year, alongside higher bills and weak footfall.

The 53-year-old owner of the independent bookshop, a former teacher known as “Mrs Chicken,” said weak Brentwood footfall had become severe enough that she sometimes went a whole day without making a sale. The report provides no town-wide footfall data to test that claim.

Radford, a former teacher, said: “It means the world because running your own business is difficult. It becomes all-consuming,” and added: “So, to know that we've had a positive impact on people's lives... it's huge.” Radford said she had been busy since the closure announcement, with customers coming in for hugs and farewells.

The post-announcement activity has centered on hugs and farewells. The report gives no sales figure showing whether regular trading improved.

What pushed The Chicken and Frog toward closure?

Radford said profit margins were thin and used a typical book purchase to illustrate the pressure. She also said the business did not get the “deep discounts that the big boys get.”

• A book she usually bought for £4.05 would sell for £6.99, leaving a £2.94 spread before other costs.
• Her electricity bills had tripled since the shop first opened, although she gave no current bill or baseline figure.
• Her annual business-rate bill rose £5,567, from £2,868 in 2024 to £8,435 this year, nearly three times the earlier charge.

The report gave no turnover, gross margin, rent, lease terms or full cost breakdown. It therefore cannot show how much of the closure came from rates rather than weak sales, energy costs or other pressures.

Taken together, the reported figures describe a severe cost squeeze, but the missing accounts leave its scale unverified.

What do the new business-rate rules change?

Radford said many businesses now pay more because the government cut its temporary 75% “relief” discount to 40% in April 2025. She said rates also follow market rental value, which disproportionately affects a town close to London like Brentwood.

An HM Treasury spokesperson told the BBC that the autumn Budget gave High Street businesses “more breathing space.” The threshold at which traders pay business rates now reaches £18,000 in rateable value, up from £12,000.

The spokesperson accepted that some areas are “more expensive than others,” meaning certain shops would not benefit. They described rental value as a “commercial decision” between landlords and businesses. Radford said communities felt “fragmented” and allowing hubs to close was a “massive oversight” by the government.

The policy statements address eligibility and rents, but they do not quantify any saving for The Chicken and Frog. Radford's account also leaves unresolved how much rates, footfall and energy costs contributed to the closure.

Relief at the national threshold does not erase higher rents and bills in expensive towns.

What will Brentwood lose when the shop closes?

BBC News described The Chicken and Frog as a “haven” for families and neurodivergent children. It reported that the shop runs workshops and provides a sensory space, so its closure removes services as well as books.

Stephanie, a 36-year-old teacher who took her neurodivergent child to the shop, said the news was “truly heartbreaking” and would be an “immense loss” to Brentwood. She called it an “incredible haven” of “knowledge, support and community.”

She said: “Natasha and her husband treated everyone who came into their shop as a close friend and went above and beyond to help,” and added: “Her love for children and their wellbeing was felt in every part of that shop and every club and session she ran.”

The announcement gives no closure day beyond January, no plan for the workshops or sensory space and no information about another operator. For Brentwood, the next test is whether the higher business-rate threshold and promised “breathing space” can offset weak footfall, energy bills and rents enough to keep other community hubs open.