A parliamentary group on urban regeneration has called for owners to pay a supplementary tax to fund business improvement districts.

The report of the all-party urban development group said the levy would pay for amenities such as cleaning, security and marketing.

It recommends that deprived areas outside city centres should be given priority in planning policy and highlights the importance of good public transport, long-term targets for regeneration bodies and more focused targeting for investment initiatives.

It says the lack of demand for commercial property and the cost and difficulty of developing large-scale regeneration projects are contributing to the slow pace of business investment in deprived areas.