The Government has recently announced a policy that dictates any land or buildings that are located at plant nurseries should benefit from the exemption from business rates that are seen by the agricultural sector. The Horticultural Trades Association, or HTA, has said that they welcome the Government policy change.
The changes have come in to fruition after lobbying by The NFU, who has received backing from a number of different organisations. The HTA backed the NFU in their fight to change Government policy, Turner Morum LLP and the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable have also been involved in the exemption campaign. It is thought that this policy change will allow those who are growers or involved in plant nurseries can now look at investing in the future safe in the knowledge of the business rates policy.
It is thought that many of the grower members of the HTA were facing changes to their business rates this year for the first time. Previously they had been exempt due to an agricultural classification. For some businesses that have been caught up in this situation, they could have had to contend with hundreds of thousands of pounds in business rates being implemented when they were previously exempt. Such a massive increase in charges could have been disaster for some companies and seen a number of plant nurseries going out of business.
The organisation worked together to lobby the government in order to get the exemption reinstated, and keep the business rates system from being applied to the plant nurseries. The lobbying has been successful and they have received a Ministerial Statement that suggests the work by the NFU, HTA and Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group has been successful.
The announcement was made on the 30th March by Marcus Jones MP and minister for the Department for Communities and Local Government. Due to a recent Court of Appeal decision, the Valuation Office Agency were starting to increase business rates to those who were previously exempt. Due to the significant costs that could be incurred by business rates being added to the British farming industry it is important that the farming industry be exempt. The Minister then clarified that the buildings and land used for plant nurseries also receive the exemption.
