UNIT 10 & 11 VICTORIA ROAD TRADING ESTATE, VICTORIA ROAD, Portslade, Portslade, BN41 1XQ

What was argued and what the tribunal found

The appellant sought a reduction in the rateable value from £182,000 to £125,500, arguing that the VO had applied an unreasonably high tone of £180/m² and that Brighton car showrooms should maintain the historical differential from Crawley properties. The tribunal found that the rent passing on the subject property (£165,000 pa), when adjusted for the AVD, supported a base rate of £180/m², and that a settled tone of £180/m² had been established across comparable properties in the same Victoria Road cluster with no challenges. The tribunal rejected the appellant's argument for maintaining historical location differentials, finding that each rating list must be determined by rental value at its own AVD and that Crawley and Brighton were sufficiently similar to justify the same base rate.

Summary generated from the decision text and checked against it. The appellant was Group1 Automotive Ltd, represented.

Grounds argued

• Comparable assessments (tone) · decisive
• Rental evidence
• Change of circumstances

Evidence

Rents, Settled assessments

Cases cited

Lotus and Delta v Culverwell; Barnard & Barnard v Walker; K Shoe Shops Ltd v Hardy; O'Brien v Harwood; Vines Ltd v Andrew Quentin de Mauny; Semples of Berwick v Mr R Roberts; Gardiner & Theobald LLP v David Jackson

Hearing

22 March 2024