Cooke & Arkwright
News
Cardiff Bay Barrage
29/06/05
Cooke & Arkwright has successfully persuaded the Valuation Officer that Cardiff Bay Barrage should not be subject to the normal rate burden, effectively saving Cardiff Harbour Authority around £2.6m over the 10 year period covered by the 2000 and 2005 rating lists. The Authority has been refunded, with interest, the rates paid from 2000 to 2005 and has been awarded a nil rating for the 2005 list.
Roger Thorney, Operational Manager at Cardiff Harbour Authority said that this represented a significant proportion of its budget. “The money can be considered for future Harbour Authority projects which will benefit the community,” he said. “The Harbour Authority was pleased to work with Cooke and Arkwright and delighted with the outcome.”
Cardiff Bay Barrage is 1.1 km long and extends from Cardiff Docks to Penarth. The project has been the catalyst for the £2bn regeneration of the old docklands of Cardiff and Penarth and landscaping of the embankment has provided public access over the whole site, offering views over the Bay and the estuary.
Andrew West, a Director with Cooke & Arkwright, who achieved the nil assessment on behalf of the Harbour Authority, said that it had been a complex issue to determine whether the structure should be deemed rateable or not. Two factors which contributed to the reduction of the assessment to nil were the access enjoyed by the public and the significant costs in maintaining the structure.
Mr West specialises in commercial rating. He represents many of Wales’ principal commercial property occupiers, together with plc’s throughout Wales, England and Scotland. The new 2005 rating list has a five year life and appeals should be made as soon as possible to ensure the relevant evidence is presented to the Valuation Officer.
Mr West said ratepayers should also be aware of fundamental changes to established appeal rights. “Since 1st April 2005, the previous time limits for effective dates of appeal have been removed,” he said. “Although this gives ratepayers more time to appeal, they are now limited to just one appeal per assessment (with some exceptions), so it is absolutely vital to ensure that only professional rating surveyors are instructed from the outset. If one of the many rogue advisors - who have no more than a superficial knowledge of the system - is instructed and an appeal fails, there will be no further redress during the five year life of the rating list.”