Host blasts lack of notification on rates rise

A freehold licensee has criticised the Valuation Office for not notifying licensees directly of their new valuations.

Chris Dyson was sent his rates demand from Sedgemoor District Council last week, showing his rateable value rising from £5,500 to £6,900 on 1 April.

Dyson, of Ye Olde Burtle in Burtle, Cornwall, said he phoned the Valuation Office in Taunton, where officials told him they were not sending out details of rateable values to pubs.

The host said he was told he could not appeal against his new business rates until after 1 April, so he has no option but to pay the new charge.

"It seems a bit absurd thatthey can't notify pubs," he said. "Government should be open and seen to do the right thing."

Steve Perkins, spokesman for the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which calculates rateable value, said its eventual aim is to send rateable values to licensed premises.

He said: "Pubs are slightly more difficult to assess because they are assessed in a different way to other businesses. Their assessment is based on turnover as a means of getting an idea of rateable value."

Perkins added that summary valuations were available fromthe VOA's own website ­ www.voa.gov.uk ­ or from councils. He urged anyone with problems related to rateable value to call the VOA on 0845 6021507.