Last October, Liverpool City Council informed The Royal Standard that its appeal against the decision not to grant it discretionary business rates relief had been unsuccessful. This meant that the artist-led studios and gallery would no longer get an 80 per cent reduction on its annual business rates. To make matters worse, they were issued with a bill for £12,000 – equating to two years rates – due by the end of January 2013.
Thankfully, the immediate issue has now been resolved. Elizabeth Murphy, Director of The Royal Standard, explains: “The rates relief issue for the period we were being billed for has been resolved. We are completely delighted as it allows us to remain open, to keep our studios and cement our programme for this year. The period of relief only lasts until April – the new tax year – so we now have to work hard to strategise around future rates issues. We had our annual AGM recently and now have a concise action plan to ensure our sustainability.”
During this difficult period, the Royal Standard has received a great deal of support from other arts organisations. “We have had lots of emails of support and advice from many UK organisations,” Murphy says. “People have been so generous with their time, which demonstrates the strength and support still alive in artist-led networks. Larger organisations such as the Liverpool Biennial and John Moores University, and in particular Paul Domela [Biennial] and Juan Cruz [John Moores] acted as advocates throughout this process.
“I also want to thank a-n for their ongoing support and coverage through what has been a difficult time for us. It was invaluable and validated our campaign.”
The Royal Standard is not the only Liverpool-based arts organisation facing this issue. Bridewell Studios and Gallery, which currently houses over 30 artists, is still in discussions with Liverpool City Council regarding concessionary business rates. A recently held charity auction raised enough money to pay its own bill for this financial year.
Liverpool City Council has stated that the decision to withdraw the reduction is part of a wider policy shift in response to central government cuts. The council have had to make savings of £141m over the last two years, with another £50m required over the next two years. Furthermore, business rates are set by central government rather than the council. Although Liverpool City Council is still entitled to grant discretionary relief, they themselves must cover part of the cost.
However, if an organisation has charitable status, it pays no more than 20% in business rates on non-domestic property, and, although administered through the local authority, the cost of this reduction is met by central government. Venues in Liverpool such as FACT, Open Eye, Tate and The Bluecoat are registered charities and therefore are not affected by the change in policy.
For non-charitable arts organisations, the positive outcome of the Royal Standard’s negotiations offers hope. Murphy comments: “Liverpool council have been very supportive and accommodating. In particular, Sean Durney [Culture Infrastructure Officer] has helped us approach the various stages step-by-step and has gone above and beyond helping us resolve this. I think our directors will be eternally grateful to him. We just hope that this bad situation opens up further conversations.”
Is your studio space or gallery affected by similar issues around business rates relief? Let us know via Twitter @an_artnews or email [email protected]
