Rating changes hit warehouses in north
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Guy Sheppard Warehouse operators in the North-west, Yorkshire and Humberside can expect to see the largest rises in the latest rating revaluation for commercial property.
Figures from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions suggest their bills will go up by an average of 9°o from 1 April.
Charles Partridge, rating panel chairman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, says any commercial property which sharply increased in value during the 1993-1998 assessment period will attract higher rates.
"I would also anticipate increases for road haulage within the M25, down the Thames corridor and on motorway junctions. Any areas which are not well served by motorways should see rateable values fall."
Overall rateable values in England will rise by an average of 26% and by 13% in Scotland and Wales. Because the total amount of rates paid to central government should stay around the same, there will be a corresponding decrease in the Uniform Business Rate which in England is currently 48.9p per pound of rateable value.
This means English operators facing higher bills are those where the rateable value of their property has increased by more than 170.0. No business will experience a sudden rise or fall in their rates' bill because of the transitional relief which phases in changes.
Rates' bills are due to go out to businesses at the end of March but information about them is available before then by inspecting valuation lists at town halls or on the Internet on www.voa.gov.uk.
• A free calc,, ::tion service provided by rating specialists Gerald Eve is available on wwvisatescalc.co.uk.