‘No sale’ for site not paying rates

The owners of the old Johnson Hospital in Spalding have said they have no interest in selling after it was revealed they’re not paying business rates for the site, something branded ‘ridiculous and shameful’ by councillors.

It means hundreds of thousands of pounds, potentially millions, worth of rates have not been collected for around 15 years from one of the largest sites in the centre of Spalding.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which tells councils how to value buildings, says it is unable to comment on individual cases.
The Voice understands that the derelict former hospital is classed as a ‘specialist older property’, similar to former schools, police and fire stations.
“If a specialist older property is replaced by a new facility in the area, the original premises may be deleted from the rating list,” a VOA spokesman said. “The Valuation Office Agency maintains rating lists of properties which local councils use to determine which properties are liable for business rates.
“Local councils are responsible for informing the VOA of changes to a property or its use.”
The old Johnson Hospital is owned by Dyden Ltd, a company based in the British Virgin Islands whose listed shareholders are “business management consultants” SMP Helm Trust Limited who are based in Jersey.
South Holland District Council leader Coun Nick Worth said the authority is pressuring the VOA to change the building’s status.
“I have tried through officers at the council to see if the owners were willing to sell the property and was told through their agents that they were not interested in selling. It has since come to light that they are not paying business rates on the property either as they have some form of exemption from the valuation office.
“As they are incurring no costs and seemingly with no intention of keeping the building in good repair, there is no reason for them to do anything to the building other than just let it deteriorate further.
“I would therefore like to know what plans they do have for the site.”
Coun Henry Bingham, said: “It is absolutely ridiculous and shameful that a site such as this can just sit at no cost to the owner.
“What incentive is there for them to do anything with it? Business rates on a building like this would make the owners have financial reasons to move forward with regeneration of the property, while also bringing money in to the district to benefit its residents or at the very least bring it to the market so someone else can.
“The VOA is not controlled by the council and its current approach and view to this building is meaning we are stuck with an eyesore bringing no benefit to the town but increasing in value for the out of area owners.
“Representations have been put forward to the VOA to request this be looked at.
“This is not a site out of the way, this is not some blocky 70s building this is a prominent building in a town centre and that needs to be understood by the VOA.”