Bradford: Snail farms used to avoid business rates

Breeding snails kept in a box are being used as a way of attempting to avoid business rates

Landlords and businesses are using unoccupied buildings to house "snail farms" in a city and avoid business rates, a council has been told.

Bradford Council heard that buildings said to house snail farms were being classed as agricultural use and therefore avoided the charge.

The council's revenue and benefits team told councillors: "A lot of people are trying to use avoidance tactics."

A senior officer said they were "snails in a box nothing more".

Councillors had been given an update on business rate payment when they heard a number of building owners were using methods to avoid paying rates, the Local Democracy Reporting Service says.

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Business rates are also payable on unoccupied properties, and this often leads to building owners attempting to find loopholes in the system, a council official said.

Martin Stubbs, assistant director of revenue and benefits, also told BBC Radio Leeds: "Empty business premises attract a business rates charge.

"Some landlords, some owners, have come up with creative ideas of ways to avoid paying some sizeable sums of money.

"Some of them have taken to bringing snails into their premises and tell us they are snail farms."

Mr Stubbs said that under business rates legislation any premises used as an agricultural property is exempt from business rates.

He added: "My team have visited and seen them.

"It's a box with some snails in it, it's as simple as that I'm afraid, nothing more elaborate.

"They are breeding snails they are therefore a snail breeding farm.

"That's not the only tactic that's used," he added.

In 2018 Kirklees Council was awarded £16,000 costs following a successful prosecution for the avoidance of non-domestic rates in a snail farm case.