The Bradley Stoke Journal

Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) has been stung by a massive hike in the business rates it has to pay for the Jubilee Centre following the discovery of a clerical error made by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2005.

This week’s meeting of the Council’s Finance Committee was told that a “manual error” within the records held by HMRC’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) resulted in  the rateable value of the main building being recorded as £1,071.60 instead of £10,713.60.

The under valuation has been in place since 2005 and BSTC has therefore benefited from a substantially reduced rate level for almost five years.

Councillors were told that the VOA has waived its right to retrospectively claim the underpayment but were disappointed to hear that the new rate is to be applied from January rather than from the start of the new tax year in April.

Had the increase been applied from April, it would have coincided with a five-yearly rate review and under ‘transitional relief’ rules the new rate would have been phased in over a four to five year period. As the April increase is now unlikely to trigger ‘transitional relief’, the new rate will have to be paid in full with immediate effect.

The additional rates arising from the corrected rateable value are believed to be between £4,000 and £5,000 per annum.

Police are appealing for witnesses to an assault that occured on Sunday night (28th June) near the Jubilee Centre in Bradley Stoke.

A couple walking home came upon a group of men near the entrance of the Jubilee Centre. One threatened the man with a knife, and he was then beaten and kicked by five others. When the alarm was raised they ran off towards Little Stoke Lane.

Police say there had been reports of nuisance behaviour in Wrington Close just before midnight, and it’s believed these were the men involved in the assault.

The suspects are all white. The man with the knife is described as 5ft 5ins tall, of small build with blond or gingery spiky hair shaved at the sides. He was wearing a white or grey tracksuit.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Staple Hill police on 0845 456 7000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

The area around the Jubilee Centre has been the focus of a number of crimes in recent months.

A suspected arson attack in March saw three cars set ablaze within the space of an hour, including one vehicle on a drive in The Beeches, just yards from the Jubilee Centre.

May saw a number of newly planted trees along the edge of Savages Wood Road destroyed by vandals.

More recently, a van leased by Bradley Stoke Town Council for use by its newly-appointed Mobile Cleansing Operative (MCO) had its windscreen kicked in when parked overnight in the car park of the Jubilee Centre.

Residents of homes surrounding the centre fear that vandalism and anti-social behaviour will increase once the new Beacon Play Park opens on Jubilee Green next month.