Flattening a factory will save £186,000
Apr 27 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
A PROPERTY owner has pulled down a building the size of two football pitches rather than pay nearly £200,000 a year in taxes.
While the former Huwoods building on the northern edge of the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead was earmarked for demolition over the coming years UK Land Estates opted to flatten it early to avoid the controversial levy.
It is the most high-profile example in the North East to date of a building being demolished to avoid the contentious empty property rates.
According to the British Property Federation around 15m sq ft of commercial property has been demolished in the UK because of the empty rates tax.
John Seager, senior development surveyor at UK Land Estates, has pulled down his 120,000sq ft industrial building in the Team Valley rather than continue to pay the £186,200 a year it was being levied in business rates.
He said: “We demolished it because we now have to pay rates on empty properties and it was a drain on our resources.”
He went on to say the company is looking to develop a mixed use office and leisure scheme on the 200-acre site but this is unlikely to happen for at least a couple of years.
