South Holland is missing out on share of £10 million business rates from Triton Knoll and Viking Link due to ‘unfair ancient’ regulation

South Holland is missing out on a share of nearly £10 million in business rates from national energy projects due to ‘ancient unfair’ regulation.

The district could soon be home to a number of large electrical substations but, due to outdated regulations, money from those projects will be going to East Lindsey District Council instead.

Members of South Holland District Council - who form part of the South and East Lincolnshire Council Partnership with East Lindsey - were told that there is currently no legal provision to allow the money to be shared with other affected councils unless the Government gives the green light.

Coun Nick Worth, leader of SHDC, said it would make a massive difference to the authority’s budgets if it was allowed a share of the rates from the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm, which has a substation at Bicker Fen, and National Grid’s Viking Link Interconnector, near Donington.

At Wednesday’s meeting Coun Worth, who was answering a question from fellow Conservative Margaret Geaney, said: “We will see absolutely nothing in business rates. It is really quite shocking.

“The current regulations are ancient and forces nationally significant infrastructure projects to be treated at one rateable value and for that to be attributed to the council that is assessed to the greatest rateable value.

“In these circumstances that is East Lindsey.

“East Lindsey basically gets 100% of those rates that come from Triton Knoll and in the future the Viking Link.

“In respect of Triton Knoll that is around £4.4million a year. And as far as Viking Link is expected to generate somewhere in the region of £6million a year.

“You can imagine the difference if that was shared across Boston, East Lindsey, and I think North Kesteven is caught in this one as well.

“I have written to the MP some while ago and there have also been letters going to the minister. They are promising to look at it because this is ancient regulation that is simply not fair.

“And for us to get a small part of that would make a massive difference to our budget.”

Currently South Holland is being targeted for large scale energy infrastructure projects such as the National Grid’s Grimsby to Walpole pylons and a substation in Weston Marsh and the 750MW Meridian solar farm on 900 hectares on several parcels of land around Crowland, Shepeau Stow and Sutton St Edmund. National Grid is also looking at proposals to bury cables through South Holland to link up a Scottish offshore windfarm with the Walpole Substation near King’s Lynn.

The Viking Link Interconnector – which will act in a similar way to a laptop power cable, but on a huge scale – has been built on the outskirts of Donington to bring in and transmit renewable energy between this country and Denmark.

This has prompted the council to unanimously agree to calling on ‘national authorities and infrastructure project planners to recognise the importance of the Fenland landscape and South Holland’s role as a food-producing area’.

Coun Bryan Alcock suggested speaking to the leader of East Lindsey, Coun Craig Leyland, to see if the proceeds could be shared.

But Rob Barlow, the partnership chief executive, said there was no legal provision for this to be shared between different councils.

He said: “The issue is with Government to allow the district valuer to split the assets between two or three difference council areas and that is why we are following that route.”

Do you feel this is an unfair regulation? Post a comment below…