Charities to miss out as York Council set to turn down rate relief applications

Foxwood and Chapelfields community centres to get relief

There are some surprising omissions from the list of organisations in the City who will miss out on discretionary rate relief when the Council Cabinet meets tomorrow.

York and District Indoor Bowls club set to get Rates relief

Most have been rejected because they do not have an “equalities” policy, haven’t completed a community impact assessment or have reserves of over £10,000

Amongst those affected are:

Acorn A R L Club
Dringhouses Sports & Social Club
York Cricket & Rugby Union Club
Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (New Earswick swimming pool)
Huntington Community Centre
Naburn Village Hall
Hopgrove Playing Fields Association
Dunnington Reading Room (Village Hall)
Stockton On Forest Village Hall
Yorkshire Air Museum
Heworth Without Community Centre
Haxby & Wigginton Youth & Community Centre
York CVS (Clifton)

A full list can be viewed by clicking here

A list of organisations recommended to get rate relief can be viewed by clicking here. It includes the Foxwood Community Centre who will not have to pay £398 in rates, Chapelfields Community Association (£2,430), while the York and District Indoor Bowls club on Thanet Road gets relief of £3,405.

York school set to lose rate relief application

The Steiner school in Fishergate is set to have an application for a reduction in its Business Rate liability turned down by the York Council.

The school is a registered charity and a non for profit organisation with any surplus made used for development. The school has recommended fees of ￡6,500 pa per child. The school was seeking a discretionary rebate of £3203 but this is set to be turned down by Labour Councillors apparently on the grounds that it is a fee paying schools.

The York Council currently discounts around £95,000 that charities in the City would otherwise pay in Business Rates. The scale of the relief was reduced when Labour took office in York.

Most charities, and other not for profit organisations, already receive what is known as “mandatory relief” which is paid for by central government.

In York the division of the Discretionary Rate relief is as follows

Category	DRR (total) £	CYC Share £
Not-for Profit	3340	1670
Charities	119931	59966
CASC’s	21925	10962
Rural Discretionary	40605	20303
Rural Top Up	5514	2757
Total Cost	191316	95658

The complete list of organisations recommended to receive Discretionary Rate Relief over the next year can be found by clicking here.

It includes the Tang Hall, Bell Farm and Foxwood Community Centres. Several Church aided schools are also included.

2/3 of the relief is paid by central government.

Charity shops to run one of a kind event in Newgate Market tomorrow (Tuesday)

A special event is being held in Newgate Market in aid of a variety of local charities.

St. Leonards Hospice, the RSPCA and the British Heart Foundation will each be selling their wares in Newgate Market and will be driving a hard bargain to help raise funds for the charities on Tuesday 20 August.

The stalls will be open from 10am and is part of Accelerating Enterprise, a partnership between York CVS, York Cares and Your Consortium, which provides services to the voluntary and community sectors and aims to share resources and maximise the income that each charity receives.