Description inrating list: Stud Farm and Premises.
Special Category: Code 269
SCAT suffix: G
Bulk Class: M
3.1The Animal & Rural Class Co-ordination Team (CCT) has overall responsibility for the co-ordination of this class. Each Regional Valuation Unit (RVU) has a representative on the team. The team is responsible for the approach to and the accuracy and consistency of stud farms.
4.1 RVU will be responsible for referencing, gathering facts and valuation.
4.2 The Animal & Rural CCT will deliver practice notes describing the valuation basis for revaluation and provide advice as necessary during the life of the rating lists. Caseworkers have a responsibility to:
For rating purposes, stud farms will include land and buildings used for the breeding and rearing of horses or ponies. The term should not be taken to include the breeding or rearing of any other animals.
Stud farming operations range widely. Sites will include those which have an individual mare or stallion kept for breeding, to large scale/high value commercial breeders of racehorses, in bespoke yards with special veterinary facilities.
Although their levels of sophistication may vary, all stud farms will strive to provide a secure and quiet environment for their horses and ensure that they are isolated from disease.
The primary need for a stud farm is good grazing and outdoor paddocks, with an adequate water supply. The paddocks need to be well secured with materials that will not cause injury to the mares and foals. It is usual to find that timber post and rail fencing is employed to create a series of paddocks around the stud buildings. Mares and foals will spend most of the time in the outdoor paddocks, except during confinement, weaning and during periods of inclement weather.
The stud buildings are often considered by breeders to be of lesser importance (in contrast to racing, or livery yards). The aim is to give the growing foals as much light, air and exercise as possible, and to allow the mares to produce their milk from grass whenever feasible. Buildings will still be present though, and are likely to include loose boxes (for resident or visiting mares), stallion boxes (these will be larger and are often better appointed), covering areas/yards (where the mating takes place), foaling boxes, tack and feed rooms, together with covered storage for hay and straw. Some studs will have an office, additional veterinary facilities or other specialist buildings. Quality can vary from poor, converted farm buildings to good quality purpose-built accommodation.
Buildings
It was confirmed in the appeals ofHemens (VO) v Whitsbury Farm and Stud Ltd (1988 RA277HL)that horses and ponies, other than those used for farming the land or reared for food, are not livestock within the definition in Section 1(3) Rating Act 1971, now paragraph 8(5) of Schedule 5 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (LGFA 88).
This means that loose boxes stabling horses and ancillary buildings, such as tack rooms, feed storesand suchare not agricultural buildings and are therefore rateable.
However, there may be parts of the property which are used for an exempt purpose. An example being a hay barn used either to store a hay crop taken from the land occupied by the stud farm proprietor, or to store hay solely for livestock which are also kept by the proprietor of the stud enterprise. Exemption considerations should not be limited to a whole building but also to a separate part of a building that is solely used for an exempt purpose.
If there is property which is used wholly for exempt agricultural purposes at certain times of the year and wholly for non-exempt purposes at other times, provided all the parties are agreeable, there is no objection to valuers agreeing a level of assessment which reflects the proportion of time used for exempt purposes to non-exempt purposes throughout the year, although the technically correct approach must be to alter the list each time the circumstances change.
Land
Agricultural land is defined in paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 to LGFA 88. This definition includes:
Land used as arable, meadow or pasture ground only.
However, paragraph 2(2)(d) of Schedule 5 goes on to state that agricultural land does not include:
Land used mainly or exclusively for purposes of sport or recreation.
In short, land used only for the grazing of horses should be treated as agricultural land within the meaning of paragraph 2(1)(a) of Schedule 5.
There may be varying degrees of use, in addition to grazing, that will not always lead to rateability. Where grazing land is used for the temporary erection of jumps for occasional casual recreational use, this should not affect exemption, but land used primarily or permanently as an outdoor exercise area does not fulfil the definition of use as arable, meadow or pasture ground only and will be rateable.
A full explanation of when other land and/or buildings used to keep horses qualify as exempt agricultural land or buildings is given inRating Manual Section 2 Valuation Principles Part 6: Exemptions Part D Agricultural Exemption.
Parliament legislated for partial rate relief from the payment of rates for farmers who also breed horses and ponies, by enacting Paragraph 2A.- (1) of Schedule 6 to LGFA 1988 (inserted by paragraph 38(11) of Schedule 5 to the Local Government & Housing Act 1989).
This relief from assessment applies to:
anyhereditamentthe whole or part of which consists in buildings which are:
