Businesses encouraged to take action on rates
The valuation office insists the out-of-date information it used in setting guidance notes does not mean unfair values
A MORE proactive approach to tackling business rates could help the equestrian sector, a riding school owner believes, as the campaign continues.
Walter Brinzer, of Chelmsford Equestrian Centre, said the industry needs to recognise that the updated valuations, which determine how much businesses pay, “don’t make sense”.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) quotes out-of-date information in its guidance notes for officers setting rateable values — the British Equestrian Trade Association 2011 survey rather than its 2015 results. But when H&H questioned this, the VOA insisted “such reports are a secondary source of data”.
A statement acknowledged “significant changes” between the
surveys, “including a fall in the number of horses from 988,000 to 944,000 and the number who ride from 3.5m to 2.7m”.
But the VOA says its primary source of data in setting rateable values is “actual rents on equestrian properties”.
To establish this, it sent a questionnaire to ratepayers in such properties “requesting additional information to enable us to value equine properties accurately based on the rents paid for buildings and other facilities”.
“For the 2017 revaluation we gathered more rental evidence for these categories of properties than in previous revaluations,” the statement read. “This allowed us to ensure we can apply rateable values more accurately to equestrian properties.”
But Mr Brinzer described the VOA’s response to H&H as “fairly standard”, which “describes how business rates in general are calculated, claims they have lots of data, avoids detail and dismisses the question into the long grass”.
“It’s clear that the detailed information on riding centres is out of date and doesn’t reflect reality,” Mr Brinzer told H&H.
Mr Brinzer compared the equine sector guidance notes to those for pubs, which are “very thorough and detailed”.
“They have agreed processes, methods and the approach agreed with the industry,” he said. “In general, good guidance and transparent process. This hasn’t happened in the equine sector.”
Mr Brinzer questioned if this was a result of the pub industry being well represented by big business such as breweries, and whether similar representation would benefit the equine sector.
He also encouraged equestrian businesses to appeal unjust rate increases, as they are “fundamentally unfair”.
“People need to be more proactive,” he said. “If the VOA has incorrect information, we need to challenge that. London rates have been much cheaper than Essex for years — why wasn’t that appealed ages ago? No one seems to be grabbing the bull by the horns to a high enough level.”
DIFFERENT BUSINESSES
MR BRINZER also believes there should be a distinction between livery yards and riding schools, as the businesses are so different. The British Horse Society (BHS), which has been campaigning against the rates rise, agrees.
BHS chief operating officer Sarah Phillips said: “In their 2017 manifesto, the Conservatives promised a full review of the rate system. It is vital the government gives the system the attention it deserves to ensure a fair deal.”
Mrs Phillips said without seeing the data used by the VOA it is hard to comment on it.
“Our concern is that riding schools and livery yards are very different businesses and as such should be treated separately,” she said. “It’s very rare for us to see either on the rental market so we do have concerns about the robustness of the data collected.”
Dame Caroline Spelman MP, who has also been campaigning for fairer rates, urged equestrian businesses to appeal valuations.
“The small number of riding stables changing hands has hampered the VOA in making an accurate assessment of rateable value, but the use of private livery yards is not a good proxy,” she said. “To lump riding stables into a category of establishments including both large and small livery operations will skew the outcome. Riding stables should appeal their revaluations and apply for transitional relief as we all seek a more just outcome.”