It is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to ensure all businesses have the correct rateable value. The VOA was not specifically instructed to value port businesses, but is obliged to carry out ratings in respect of this responsibility.
A review of the rating of businesses within the ports was started in May 2006, once points of legal principle which arose during an earlier review of the port of Southampton had been clarified. Reviews of all 55 ports have now been completed. The rating list has been updated in 50 of these cases. In the remaining five reviews, the Valuation Office has contacted the ratepayers notifying them of their intentions and inviting them to discuss the proposals in advance of the rating list being amended.
Following is a list of the 55 ports subject to recent review.
Barrow
Blyth
Boston
Bristol
Dover
Falmouth
Felixstowe
Fleetwood
Folkestone
Garston
Goole
Great Yarmouth
Grimsby
Harwich dock
Harwich International
Heysham
Hull
Humber sea terminal
Immingham
Ipswich
King's Lynn
Liverpool
Lowestoft
Manchester ship canal
Newhaven
Plymouth Cattedown
Plymouth Millbay
Poole
Port of London
Portsmouth
Ramsgate
Southampton container terminal
Seaham
Sharpness
Sheerness
Shoreham
Southampton
Sunderland
Tilbury Container Services
Teesport
Teignmouth
Thamesport
Tilbury
Tyne
Workington
Barry
Cardiff
Fishguard
Holyhead
Milford Dock Company
Milford Haven Port Authority
Mostyn
Newport
Port Talbot
Swansea.