Decision of the Lands Valuation Appeal Court in which a number of ratepayers appealed against the values entered in the roll at the time of the 2005 Revaluation and for their retail premises in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. Following the appeal, the Glasgow Valuation Appeal Committee found that a combination of events consisting of the opening of out of town shopping centres, the economic downturn, the withdrawal from the market place of various traders and the expansion and improvement of the St Enoch Centre brought about a material change of circumstances[1] affecting rental values in virtually all retail premises within the principal trading sections of Sauchiehall Street. As such, the values were reduced by 30%.

The Assessor appealed and the Lands Valuation Appeal Court found that only the economic crisis constituted a relevant material change of circumstances and returned the case to the Appeal Committee. After hearing expert evidence from both sides as to how much of the reduction was due to the economic crisis, the Committee allowed the appeals and found that the valuations should be reduced by 6.66%[2]. The ratepayers argued that the reduction should have been the full 30% and requested that the Committee state a case for the Appeal Court. The Assessor cross appealed arguing that there should be no reduction at all.

Before the Appeal Court the ratepayers argued that the court should:

1. resile from its previous decision in this case and decide instead that any change in rental value in an intermediate year, whatever the cause, was per se a material change of circumstances, except where it was trivial;
2. restore the original decision of the Committee (and reduce the values by 30%).

The Appeal Court rejected those arguments and refused the appeal (and cross appeal). The court was satisfied its previous decision was sound in law. It noted that, while a material change of circumstances may now[3] consist of a fall in rental value, not every fall in rental value constitutes a material change of circumstances. If that were the case the whole system of quinquennial revaluation would be undermined:

 “The system of quinquennial revaluation is based on the principle that subjects entered in the roll at a revaluation will remain at the same value until the next revaluation, unless a material change of circumstances occurs in the interim. In reality, the rental values of commercial subjects of all kinds may fluctuate constantly throughout the quinquennium. The submission for the appellants, if sound, would apply to all lands and heritages that are entered in the roll. If every downward fluctuation, whatever the cause, constituted a material change of circumstances, the whole basis of quinquennial revaluation would be undermined. The quinquennium would consist of an endless series of material change appeals relating to all kinds of lands and heritages.”

The full judgement is available from Scottish Courts here.

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