Museum Street College Developments, Warrington Collegiate, Museum Street, Museum Street, WA1 1HU

What was argued and what the tribunal found

The appellant, a company that purchased the former art college in January 2018 with plans to convert it to 20 flats, sought deletion of the property from the rating list arguing it was uneconomical to repair and obsolete. The tribunal rejected the argument, finding that on the material date (7 November 2018) the property had been vacant for only one year and no credible evidence of repair costs exceeding five times the rateable value (£125,000) was provided, and that the property was still in use as a college at the antecedent valuation date (1 April 2015), so no lack of supply or obsolescence could be established. The tribunal also found that no overt act of reconstruction had been undertaken as at the material date, and therefore dismissed the appeal.

Summary generated from the decision text and checked against it. The appellant was Museum Street College Development Ltd, represented.

Grounds argued

• State of repair or deletion · decisive
• Change of circumstances

Change of circumstances

conversion to residential use

Evidence

Photographs, Expert report

Cases cited

Newbigin (VO) v SJ & J Monk [2017] UKSC 14; Jackson (VO) v Canary Wharf Ltd [2019] UKUT 136 (LC); Telereal Trillium v Hewitt (VO) [2019] UKSC 23

Hearing

11 March 2021