Taxing Your Turf

[Bper]

The Welsh Government is using satellites to spy on homeowners with big gardens, as it seeks to overhaul council tax

Families who live in areas with good schools or lower crime rates are among those who will be hit with higher council tax bills, under plans being drawn up by the Senedd.

The Labour run Welsh Government says it will introduce higher council tax bands and higher tax band rates to address “property wealth” and “rebalance” the current system.

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that a Labour government will not raise taxes. But he has also said that the Welsh Government is a “blueprint” for “what Labour can do across the UK. Coming to a town near you...

[Big_D]

Like the Welsh 20mph blanket speed zones which are now going to be repealed.

[Primus1]

Can’t see it happening..

[Bper]

There is a potential storm brewing on the horizon for council tax.With the cost of living crisis squeezing finances, rumours have been circulating that a council tax band reassessment might be on the cards. While this could be a way for local authorities to raise much needed revenue, it's obviously a politically sensitive issue.

One strategy being floated is to test the waters in Wales by basing bands partially on garden size. This might be seen as a softer approach compared to a full revaluation based solely on property values. However, questions remain about fairness, as garden size might not always reflect a property's true value.The success of a pilot scheme in Wales, if it happens, will be closely watched. If implemented smoothly, it could pave the way for a wider rollout across the UK. But for now, there's still uncertainty. 

[Haliotis]

The big question is, “what makes these council ‘Jobsworths’ think they are skilled in calculating property values?  Any aspect of property content only has a value dependent upon what a prospective buyer might be willing to pay for it.

If they want to start charging for a property’s assets, then they must also be prepared to reduce the tax for any disadvantages.

The best advice for them is to BUTT OUT! 

[Bper]

Hi Albert, apparently the valuation office agency is responsible for assessing properties and assigning them to council tax bands. They use factors like the property's characteristics size, amenities and a national valuation date 1991 for England and 2003 for Wales to determine the band and not current market value. I would like to know what would be a fair system of assessment as this will happen at some stage and I hazard to think what the cost of this bl***y tax will eventually be.

[Mjolinor]

The Greeks have a increased council charge for houses with a pool. Surprisingly very few people had them until Google Maps proved otherwise.

Big earner for them it was.

 

[Bper]

18 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

The Greeks have a increased council charge for houses with a pool. Surprisingly very few people had them until Google Maps proved otherwise.

Big earner for them it was.

 

Hi John, that's interesting, I bet that caught a lot out. Was this widespread or just on one municipality. Well considering Google have a street view of every road in the UK they probably have an aerial view of every garden no doubt.

[Big_D]

24 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

The Greeks have a increased council charge for houses with a pool. Surprisingly very few people had them until Google Maps proved otherwise.

Big earner for them it was.

 

If our local councils go this route, I'll have to cover the bird bath. Don't want them thinking I have a pool for the feathered tenants who use my small garden

[Mjolinor]

7 minutes ago, Bper said:

Hi John, that's interesting, I bet that caught a lot out. Was this widespread or just on one municipality. Well considering Google have a street view of every road in the UK they probably have an aerial view of every garden no doubt.

I only know it was Athens, I was living there at the time.

It must be on the Internet I would think. It made a big stink at the time.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Hmmm, not sure I like the direction this is going in.

If my local clowncil do have the sheer audacity to increase the tax on my property, then I shall have no alternative other than to cancel access to my annual grouse shoot, and be damned with them.

They can forget their trout suppers too.

 

[Mjolinor]

3 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Hmmm, not sure I like the direction this is going in.

If my local clowncil do have the sheer audacity to increase the tax on my property, then I shall have no alternative other than to cancel access to my annual grouse shoot, and be damned with them.

They can forget their trout suppers too.

 

But hopefully the gardens will still be open on public holidays?

[Bper]

1 minute ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Hmmm, not sure I like the direction this is going in.

If my local clowncil do have the sheer audacity to increase the tax on my property, then I shall have no alternative other than to cancel access to my annual grouse shoot, and be damned with them.

They can forget their trout suppers too.

 

Hi Paul, if they do increase your council tax then you will have to let a couple of your staff go to pay for it. Sacrifice unfortunately is part of Life.😂

[Haliotis]

The big question is, “what makes these council ‘Jobsworths’ think they are skilled in calculating property values?  Any aspect of property content only has a value dependent upon what a prospective buyer might be willing to pay for it.

If they want to start charging for a property’s assets, then they must also be prepared to reduce the tax for any disadvantages.

The best advice for them is to BUTT OUT! 

[Haliotis]

Don’t know why the above post has printed twice!

When we bought our house, in 1985, behind it was a bungalow for the school caretaker.  The rent was too high for the caretaker, and it then stood derelict for a few years.

Then the council let it to a day nursery, who converted it for that use.  Since then, it has had two extensions.  The racket  when the kids are out at play, along with bawling attendants, whose idea of singing - “fed up with ‘the Grand Old Duke of York’ - leaves a lot to be desired.

There are four homes directly affected, with three of them having retired residents. Resting in the sun during weekdays is not practical - but I’ll bet the council would not consider a reduction due to loss of amenity!

[Mjolinor]

Quite near here in this quite conservation residential area is a private nursery. They completely block the road with cars every weekday and make huge amounts of noise, the worst thing though is the safety, kids everywehre at shutting time and none are old enough to ahve any road sense.

 

Planning permission in residential areas specifically says no impact in any way on the residents lives.

They got round it by making the planning leader a director of the school.

My mate died trying to get them to shut it, the stress of court appearances and meetings wooden boxed him double quick.

[Haliotis]

2 hours ago, Mjolinor said:

Quite near here in this quite conservation residential area is a private nursery. They completely block the road with cars every weekday and make huge amounts of noise, the worst thing though is the safety, kids everywehre at shutting time and none are old enough to ahve any road sense.

 

Planning permission in residential areas specifically says no impact in any way on the residents lives.

They got round it by making the planning leader a director of the school.

My mate died trying to get them to shut it, the stress of court appearances and meetings wooden boxed him double quick.

We have a primary school behind us - hence the ex-caretaker’s bungalow which is now a day nursery.  We do have lots of cars in the road during start and finish of lessons for the day.

Our front garden was once bordered by flowering plants adjacent to the pavement, but kids simply walked on them - even when with their disinterested parent(s).  So I cleared the plants and replaced them with rockery stones, and let lobelia ramble over them.  The kids, some as young as about 3 - even when parents watching - use the rocks as stepping stones. Now these rocks are loose laid and can rollover at any time.  Twisted/broken ankle? - not my problem. This would be down to lack of parental care.

Have considered planting a Berberis hedge  - nice and spiky, but would have to ensure that it did not protrude outside my boundary line.

[Bper]

25 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

We have a primary school behind us - hence the ex-caretaker’s bungalow which is now a day nursery.  We do have lots of cars in the road during start and finish of lessons for the day.

Our front garden was once bordered by flowering plants adjacent to the pavement, but kids simply walked on them - even when with their disinterested parent(s).  So I cleared the plants and replaced them with rockery stones, and let lobelia ramble over them.  The kids, some as young as about 3 - even when parents watching - use the rocks as stepping stones. Now these rocks are loose laid and can rollover at any time.  Twisted/broken ankle? - not my problem. This would be down to lack of parental care.

Have considered planting a Berberis hedge  - nice and spiky, but would have to ensure that it did not protrude outside my boundary line.

You really shouldn't have to worry about any of this but thats the generation we live in. Putting a Berberis hedge in will require pruning to make sure it doesn't grow outside the boundary. You can bet your life if one of the kids falls into it or pricks their fingers you will be sued or jailed for child cruelty.😭 Consider a fence if you can put one up.

We have a similar problem, we live on a small private road at the end of a cul de sac and despite signs saying no through road on both sides at the entrance we still get people every day thinking that they can use this as a short cut. The problem is you can clearly see before you drive up our bit that a fence and trees prevent you from going anywhere.

So they still continue to drive right up to the fence, and instead of reversing straight back they reverse onto our front garden adjacent to our garage drive. So we put some flower pots on the front to stop them and they have broken these four times. As a last resort my neighbours grandson works for a road traffic management company and has supplied us both with traffic cones which we now have stuck on the front. It has worked so far as they don't drive up anymore. I loose track of the times I have had a go at the drivers for breaking the pots.🤬

 

[Haliotis]

Hi, Bob.   Estate was built with ‘open plan’ rules - no fencing allowed at front.  Over the years, some latitude was given and fencing up to one metre high is allowed at the sides of front gardens.  A couple of owners have put up fences at the front, but may be at risk of “Take them down - or else!!!”

Regarding the Berber is, I will look at possibility of keeping it 3 inches INSIDE my property boundary - which is the concrete edging abutting the pavement.  Berber is isn’t too bad - the little buggers deserve firethorn. Ha,ha!

[Primus1]

There was an idea mooted a few years back suggesting that people who paved over grassed areas in their gardens would have to pay extra on their council tax or water bill( can’t remember) due to water run off adding to the problem of flooding, nothing has come of it so I think the idea of raising council tax if you have a large garden, will go the same way.

[Crickleymal]

On 5/14/2024 at 7:26 PM, Mjolinor said:

The Greeks have a increased council charge for houses with a pool. Surprisingly very few people had them until Google Maps proved otherwise.

Big earner for them it was.

 

I didn't know anybody in Greece paid taxes. I thought that was the cause of those problems they had a few years ago 😁

[Crickleymal]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:03 PM, Haliotis said:

 

Our front garden was once bordered by flowering plants adjacent to the pavement, but kids simply walked on them - even when with their disinterested parent(s).  So I cleared the plants and replaced them with rockery stones, and let lobelia ramble over them.  The kids, some as young as about 3 - even when parents watching - use the rocks as stepping stones. Now these rocks are loose laid and can rollover at any time.  Twisted/broken ankle? - not my problem. This would be down to lack of parental care.

Have considered planting a Berberis hedge  - nice and spiky, but would have to ensure that it did not protrude outside my boundary line.

We once had a house which had an open plan front garden like all our neighbours. We naively dug a flower bed down by the road and loads of kids walked through it. So we planted a couple of Berberis and some kids got scratched. Their mother had the audacity to complain but an eff off from a large grumpy bloke seemed to shut them up. I've abridged what I actually said.

[Primus1]

I’m going to get a few fibreglass cows, then when the Google drone flies over they’ll think it’s farmland…