Fury as rates bill rises by 60%

Clive Girvan of CG Motor Factors on the Malcolm Road said he was astounded when he opened his business rates bill.

Mr Girvan, who set up his business just over a year ago, said the massive increase has put an added stress on him and his business.

The NAV which represents the rental value of the property has shot up from £7,700 to £12k.

He contacted Land and Property Services and said he was told new valuations had been taking place on properties for the past seven years. Mr Girvan asked when they had come out to value his property and he claimed the official said they couldn’t go and visit every property and it was valued in the office.

Last year he paid £4,549 in rates and this year it has leaped to £7,120 - a rise of 56.53%.

Mr Girvan said such a massive leap could potentially put him out of business.

A spokesperson for Craigavon Borough Council said councillors have received a number of enquiries since the list was published in November and have been encouraging local businesses to make contact with Land and Property Service.

A Department of Finance and Personnel spokesperson said: “All 73,000 non-domestic properties were revalued with effect from 1 April, 2015. LPS already holds many details about every property, for example location, size, number of floors, usage etc.

“In 2013, LPS wrote to every office, shop, warehouse etc with a Form of Return to gather other property details for the revaluation, for example, lease details, rent paid, rent review periods, lease terms, trade levels etc. The revaluation was, therefore, evidenced based, following the market evidence to assess a new Net Annual Value (NAV).

“It wasn’t necessary to inspect every property for the revaluation. Any inspection that did take place would only have happened with permission.”