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Our local council is forced to DEMOLISH our swimming pool and leisure centre because it can't afford to pay the NNDR. Please read on . . . . !
The pool was closed last year because the Council got its sums wrong - but that's another issue ! The pool is in excellent condition (just 15 years old) and is now boarded up. Although the pool is closed, and cannot be used, the Council still has to pay NNDR of £50,000 on it under new legislation that came into force on 1st April this year.
To avoid this cost to the ratepayer they have decided to demolish the only public pool for 25 miles around - so we all have a 50 mile round trip for a swim !
This appears ridiculous to me - a £6million public leisure pool is being demolished solely to save the NNDR. Surely something must be wrong here ?
There are many derelict Lidos around the country - if they had to pay NNDR on them surely they would have been bulldozed ? So how can it make sense for our modern Leisure Centre to be demolished due to the apparent iniquitous NNDR applied to it ?
If anyone can explain this conundrum - many thanks
Have the Council considered other options eg Trusts to manage it. Is the Council telling all the facts, is there some other reason?
Just so everyone knows what NNDR stands for (I admit I didn't)
It is-
"National non-domestic rates (NNDR) or business rates are collected from businesses by councils, pooled by central government and redistributed to councils on a population basis. Special arrangements apply in the City of London. NNDR money combines with the revenue support grant (RSG) and council tax to make up local government funding."
The problem with our Council is that they got their sums so wrong they have nothing at all for any "luxuries" (if you can call a swimming pool a "luxury") - or should I say non-mandatory items. In fact they are insolvent.
We did look at one of the local Swimming Pool operators taking it over, and that would have given Trust status and saved on the NNDR. BUT even though that would have been a considerable saving, the Council could not afford the subsidy they would still have needed to operate the pool.
The main point I was making, however, was to question why all the derelict lidos and pools around the country are not being demolished immediately on closure in order to save on NNDR (Non-domestic rates) ?
If they were paying NNDR then surely most Councils would seek to demolish them to save the NNDR - but this isn't happening. I'm not saying they should pull them all down, just questioning why we are apparently so different to everyone else in that our pool has to be demolished.
Why do our ratepaying residents (not one of whom has ever raised any concerns about the cost on the rates) have to lose our £6million investment just because our council cannot manage its affairs ?
Your explanation of NNDR is excellent, thank you - but if you, as an intelligent and inquiring person, were unaware of how NNDR worked then what chance have we of making anyone understand the ridiculousness of our situation ?
NNDR Public Swimming Pools & Leisure Centres
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