Located in the village of Sulhamstead, south of Reading, the Thames Valley Police Training College is an extensive property which serves the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

The challenge

• The site comprises numerous buildings of varying ages, including a firearms range and the ‘White House’, which was originally constructed in 1748. This Grade II Listed building is also home to the Thames Valley Police Museum which amongst other things houses items from the Great Train Robbery of 1963.
• Following our success at Valuation Tribunal where the 2010 rating list assessment was reduced from £620,000 to £515,000, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) increased the rateable to £815,000 for the purposes of the 2017 rating revaluation.

Our solution

• This increased rateable value was appealed by our London Business Rates team and a reduction to £575,000 was secured. Shortly thereafter, a reduction in the 2023 rateable value was also negotiated from £720,000 to £650,000.

The results

• The combined savings resulting from the reduction in the 2017 and 2023 rateable values amount to over £800,000.
• Our Business Rates team has provided advice to Thames Valley Police in respect this site for over 25 years and, during that time we have delivered savings in excess of £2.0m.

Image courtesy of Cam5179 at the English-language Wikipedia