Pub rating appeals delayed at VOA

Pub rating appeals have been delayed because valuation officials have been busy preparing the new rating list for 2010.

Thwaites Brewery said some appeals had been delayed by six months. Chartered surveyors said the process had slowed during the past 12-18 months, although there are signs of recovery.

Thwaites property director John Draper pointed to "huge backlogs of hardship appeals that haven't been dealt with yet". He said all Thwaites appeals submitted in the past six months — for about 30 pubs — had been delayed.

Draper blamed the delay on most Valuation Office Agency (VOA) caseworkers being tied up with preparing the new 2010 rating list.

Chris Tattersall, of Lawrence Tattersall chartered surveyors, said appeals had slowed over the past 12-18 months partly because of increased workload at the VOA due to the new rating list.

Many pubs had also lodged appeals after trade fell due to the smoking ban, which also caused a backlog, he said.

"There have been a lot of additional applications which would not generally have been allowed for towards the end of the 2005 ratings list due to the smoking ban. In recent months [application processing] has almost come to a complete standstill, though it's now freeing up again."

Geoff Latham, of Gerald Eve chartered surveyors, which handles rating revaluations for most major pubcos, said the VOA turned its attention to pub appeals again in June this year. He was confident most would be dealt with before winter.

A VOA spokesman said: "We received around 133,000 new appeals in 2008-09, of which 100,000 were resolved. This represents only a slight fall in clearance levels in comparison with previous years, and reflects effort invested in preparing the 2010 rating lists.

"We continue with our commitment to timely handling of appeals, which includes giving priority to those facing hardship."