Shropshire community groups and village halls face rates shock

Rate relief given by Shropshire Council to good causes may be cut.

That means groups including scouts, church halls, youth clubs and senior citizens clubs, will face having to find extra cash to foot the annual bill.

Since 2015, discretionary rate relief of up to 100 per cent has been granted to not for profit organisations.

But in a letter sent out to groups, Shropshire Council has given legal notice that from April 2019, these groups may no longer benefit.

The extra bill will depend on buildings used by groups, but could be more than £1,000 for some.

One group affected will be Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust, based at the old Abbey Station.

It relies heavily on contributions from visitors to keep running.

Trust director David Morris said: “The council only gave us the freehold of the building last year and now it seems the same council is penalising us with this levy.

“It is a massive setback for us. We have to work really hard to keep the building going and to maintain its upkeep.

"We are going to struggle to pay. We have just been given notice and we are very concerned.

"It will affect everyone from village halls to scout huts.

“This is going to cause a huge problem for us. Membership is declining and the younger population is not joining societies like ours.

“We put on events that attract thousands of people and we are totally reliant on those people to come through the door and give us contributions.”

Shropshire Council was not available for comment, but a letter from the council’s revenues and benefits service manager to community groups says: “Subject to amendments made to our policy, the discretionary rate relief currently awarded will be reduced or totally removed.”