Shropshire Family to be Homeless After £80,000 Dispute With Council

STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

A Shropshire man is £80,000 out of pocket and facing homelessness after Wrexham Borough Council continued to charge business rates for the hotel he had converted into his family home.

Until recently, Mark Layder, of Redbrook Lodge, Whitchurch, had continued to pay hotel business rates for the premises in the name of his company Quality of Life Academy Limited - even though Redbrook has not been a hotel since 2004.

He has been challenging the authority's decision since 2004, and was advised to carry on paying until the case was resolved. But he is still waiting for answers eight years later.

He stopped making the payments in an attempt to bring the matter to a conclusion.

Instead, Wrexham Borough Council called in the bailiffs, who have visited the property more than 30 times and have threatened to repossess three cars, even though they are nothing to do with his company.

He said: "Redbrook Lodge has not been a hotel since we moved here in 2004, but we are still forced to pay business rates of £10000 a year because the valuation agency said it has everything in it to be a hotel!

"My car has everything in it to be a taxi, but it isn't one!

"Like any decent taxpayer I carried on with the payments, expecting the appeal to be heard quickly, but when nothing happened - despite our continued attempts - I stopped.

"Instead of listening to us, Wrexham Borough Council called in Excel Enforcement Bailiffs, who have threatened to repossess our cars even though they have nothing to do with the limited company.

"As well as the financial problems, it's caused me and my family considerable distress."

The Layders have put Redbrook Lodge up for sale, in an attempt to recoup some of the money Wrexham Borough Council claims they owe.

But they claim it will cost the council far more to repossess the property and find a new home for them.

Mark Layder said: "This could have been settled years ago - all they had to do was offer us a reduced business rate, as Redbrook Lodge is an educational establishment.

"If we can't sort this out, we will lose our home and the council will have to re-house us, which will cost them far more than they stand to gain.

"And a building which could be a real asset to the area will stand empty and fall into disrepair."