Church hall and youth groups must pay rates

It has been claimed that 37 community groups will be forced to pay business rates after Warwick District Council reviewed the groups it felt were eligible for rate relief.

The authority’s deputy chief executive has denied it is removing rate relief to boost its own revenue.

Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs has appealed to county MPs to stop the council collecting £5,000 in business rates and other charities are preparing to challenge the decision.

The association still has to pay only 20 per cent of business rates because it is a charity, but its chairman of trustees Chris Cox believes this is too much.

He said: “It’s £5,000 we won’t be using for productive youth work.”

Mr Cox described how the charity’s £1 million turnover halved and it sacked half its 32-strong workforce when funding was cut in the wake of the Coalition’s cuts.

Then the association, which runs a youth club at the Westbury Centre, received news it would have to pay rate relief along with national groups judged not to contribute solely to the district.

When the charity appealed, it was told its would still have to pay because of its level of reserves and because council bosses was felt it could generate more income.

But Mr Cox said the Charity Commission recommends keeping reserves to pay staff salaries - needed immediately following the recession - and that it has spent £150,000 on the Westbury Centre - one of the district council’s own buildings - and had considered handing the building back because it could not make money from it.

Mr Cox added: “You are encouraged by one part of the Big Society to be a prudent business and then another says we should be using those reserves to pay rates.”

St Margaret’s church hall in Whitnash will also have to pay a portion of business rates, along with Warwick Corps of Drums.

Whitnash town councillor André Davis described the move as a “sign of the times” in which charities and voluntary organisations take on responsibility from the public sector but have money taken away.

He said: “It puts an extra administrative burden on charitable groups. If anything we need funds to be at least maintained if not increased.”

The council’s deputy chief executive Andrew Jones denied the council would benefit from the extra income as it passes rates to the Government, which redistributes them. Although some local authorities may receive a greater share in future Mr Jones said it was not yet clear whether this would be the case.

He said he did not know how many groups would be affected as many were still being appealed. He urged any who thought they may have to close to contact the council’s community partnership team.