LANDS TRIBUNAL FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
LANDS TRIBUNAL AND COMPENSATION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1964
IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL
VR/3/1986
BETWEEN
JAMES MORGAN - APPELLANT
AND
THE COMMISSIONER OF VALUATION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND - RESPONDENT
Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland - Mr A L Jacobson FRICS
Belfast - 20th October 1986
This was an appeal against the Net Annual Value assessed on a detached house at 27
Andersonstown Road, Belfast. At the Third General Revaluation of Northern Ireland effective
from 1st April 1976 the assessment was fixed at £300 Net Annual Value which was increased
to £325 Net Annual Value by a District Valuer's Certificate dated 21 st October 1980 to take
account of the addition of oil-fired central heating. On 21st February 1985 the Appellant sought
a reduction but the District Valuer's Certificate dated 29 th May 1985 declined to alter the
assessment. Accordingly, a first Appeal was made on 13 th June 1985 to the Commissioner of
Valuation who issued a Notice of Dismissal on 10th December 1985. It is against that Notice of
Dismissal that Mr Morgan appealed on 7th January 1986 to the Lands Tribunal.
Mr Morgan, the Appellant, who was not represented, testified that he had lived in the house
since it was built in 1930.
At that time the land opposite was used as a pig farm.
His
neighbour who owned that land sold it to Messrs John Eastwood & Sons Ltd who are scrap
metal and scrap car merchants. His house now faced a large scrapyard with a brick wall to the
front. At first there were no cranes - now there are large cranes - one of which is a magnetic
crane which lifts heavy steel beams and plates and drops them elsewhere in the yard. A
fractionaliser has also been installed - this chews badly damaged cars into small discs. The
noise of the large metal dropping is easily heard inside the house. The fractionaliser is very
noisy and irritating and at times is used seven days a week - at this time the scrapyard is only
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operating four days a week. The sharp metallic noises can be heard inside the kitchen of the
house.
Cars to be squashed and made into small discs should have their petrol tanks emptied but
there are occasions when a car is crushed that an explosion is caused by petrol (or petrol
vapour) and these explosions (in West Belfast) can be unnerving. Scrap cars from south of
the border in the Republic of Ireland are also dealt with in the scrapyard and (generally on a
Friday) there is a queue of transporters laden with about 24 damaged cars waiting to get into
the scrapyard.
Another complaint by the Appellant was the dirt and dust emanating from the scrapyard - the
house windows required cleaning twice a week and the front windows in the house were kept
closed to prevent the ingress of dust. Watch dogs were kept in the scrapyard when no work
was being done. When people were going home in the small hours they appeared to take
great pleasure in annoying the dogs and causing them to create a din - sometimes the barking
continues all night.
Inside the scrapyard is a "Tannoy" system and staff calls are made throughout working hours.
At one time upholstery and tyres were burnt off but that has not happened recently.
To the left of Eastwood's is a road contractor Messrs John McQuillan (Contracts) Ltd. There
10 ton road rollers and heavy road machinery start up their diesel engines about 7.30 am.
Mr Morgan testified that he had made representation to Eastwood's, had called the fire brigade
when fire and smoke emanated from tyres etc and had made representations to the Belfast
Corporation regarding the noise. Health inspectors had come out on a number of occasions
and measured the sound intensity but each time the noise abated sufficiently before readings
were taken that only on one or two occasions had borderline readings been found.
The Appellant agreed that if there was no annoyance from noise, dust, dirt etc the assessment
of £360 would be correct but the 10% end allowance given by the District Valuer was
insufficient. He considered that it should be 30% to 35%. The volume of noise had increased
considerably since 1976 ie at the General Revaluation.
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Mr J McMeel (Solicitor) of the Crown Solicitor's Department called Mr Morris Goldring ARICS
to give evidence. Mr Goldring spoke to a valuation of £325 made up as follows:House
204m2 @ £1.54 per m2
Central Heating
£314
£ 24
Motor House
27m2 @ £0.75 per m2
£ 20
Store
9m2 @ £0.40 per m2
£ 3
£361
Deduct: end allowance @ 10%
£ 36
£325
He supported this with three comparables viz:1.
The adjacent house @ No 29 Andersonstown Road
Assessed:House
185m2 @ £1.57 per m2
Central Heating
£290
£ 24
£314
2.
Deduct: end allowance 10%
£ 31
Net Annual Value
£283
No 97 Andersonstown Road
Assessed:House
185m2 @ £1.60 per m2
Central Heating
Motor House
£296
£ 24
15m2 @ £1.00 per m2
£ 15
Net Annual Value
£335
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3.
No 99 Andersonstown Road
Assessed:House
228m2 @ £1.58 per m2
Central Heating
£360
£ 30
Motor House
24m2 @ £0.85 per m2
£ 20
Green House
20m2 @ £0.25 per m2
£ 5
Net Annual Value
£415
Mr Goldring testified that comparables 2 and 3 were submitted to show the tone of the list for
houses unaffected by the scrapyard. However they were opposite a Gaelic football ground
and suffered from traffic noise on this busy Andersonstown Road and the usual vandalism
which occurred generally. He relied on Comparable No 1, the next door house for which,
although occupied by an accountant employed by Messrs Eastwood, no appeal had been
made against the 10£% end allowance made for the noise, dust etc emanating from the
scrapyard.
He considered that the Eastwood scrapyard was in existence at 1st April 1976 when the Third
General Revaluation List came into force. A 10% allowance had been given and there has
been no fundamental change in the circumstances since then to warrant a greater allowance.
He further disputed that scrap cars were now burnt out at Eastwood's scrapyard.
When
crashed cars are to be crushed they are first taken to Glen Road when the upholstery and
tyres etc are burnt out and then brought to the fractionaliser to be processed.
The following facts were agreed or admitted:_
1.
The house is two storeyed and was built about 1930 of brick with a slated roof. There is a
brick motor house with an adjoining store and there are gardens front and rear. There is a
full oil-fired central heating.
2.
Accommodation of the house is:Ground floor:
Enclosed porch, cloakroom and WC, reception room, dining room,
kitchen and scullery.
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First floor:
Four bedrooms, bathroom and WC combined.
Gross external areas:House
204 square metres
Motor House
27 square metres
Store
3.
9 square metres
The house is located near to the Andersonstown Road/Kennedy Way roundabout.
Directly opposite is a scrapyard occupied by Messrs John Eastwood and Sons Ltd. The
house is affected by noise, dust etc from that scrapyard (although there is a dispute as to
whether there has been a fundamental change in the circumstances which existed when
the Third General Revaluation came into force on 1st April 1976).
4.
An end allowance of 10% had been given at the Third General Revaluation for the
existence of the scrapyard to Nos 27 to 45 Andersonstown Road (inclusive). Although
there had been some applications for revision from some of the occupiers of Nos 27 to 45
Andersonstown Road none, apart from Mr Morgan, had appealed to the Lands Tribunal.
DECISION
The statutory requirements are contained in Article 39 and Schedule 12 Part I to the Rates
(Northern Ireland) Order 1977 ("the 1977 Order"). The relevant parts are as follows:"1.
Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, for the purposes of this Order the net annual
value of a hereditament shall be the rent for which, one year with another, the
hereditament might, in its actual state, be reasonably expected to let from year to year,
the probable average annual cost of repairs, insurance and other expenses (if any)
necessary to maintain the hereditament in its actual state, and all rates, taxes or public
charges (if any), being paid by the tenant.
2-(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), in estimating the net annual value of a hereditament for
the purposes of any revision of the valuation list, regard shall be had to the net annual
values in the valuation list of comparable hereditaments which are in the same state
and circumstances as the hereditament whose net annual value is being revised."
Also, Article 54(2) of the 1977 Order which reads:-
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"(2) On an appeal under this Article, the valuation shown in the valuation list with
respect to a hereditament shall be deemed to be correct until the contrary is shown."
The nub of this case is whether the intensity of noise, dust etc emanating from the Eastwood
scrapyard has increased in a relevant way so as to warrant an increase in the end allowance
of 10% given in the Third General Revaluation List operative from 1st April 1976.
The
Andersonstown Road is a busy thoroughfare and all houses fronting the road suffer general
traffic noise. Mr Morgan, the Appellant quite properly conceded that an assessment of £360
Net Annual Value would be correct if there were no additional noise and dust from Messrs
Eastwood and Messrs McQuillan's premises on the other side of the Andersonstown Road.
Mr Morgan was quite firm that the machine called a fractionaliser was installed some years
after 1976 and Mr Goldring accepted that view. But Mr Morgan thought that the magnetic
crane was installed after 1976 whereas Mr Goldring thought that it was installed before 1976.
That is inconclusive but no help could be obtained from the rating records of the Respondent
for they were not in Court.
Mr Morgan was emphatic that there has been an increase in noise, dust etc since 1976 even
though at the present time Eastwood's are working a four day week. Mr Goldring, on the other
hand, while not working in the area in or about 1976, considered that there had been no large
increase in the past six to seven years while he was working in the area.
That difference of opinion leaves the matter to the Tribunal's own impressions as to whether
the noise and dust etc warrants a higher end allowance than 10% bearing in mind:(a)
the Tribunal cannot (and did not) make an inspection in 1976, and
(b)
the nearly similarly - circumstances houses have assessments in the Valuation List which
each have an end allowance of 10%. Such entries must be considered correct, for there
was no evidence to the contrary.
The Tribunal visited the area on a number of occasions and at various times of the day. The
Tribunal's experience at all times was the preponderant sound heard was that of the traffic
which is always dense on this busy thoroughfare.
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That traffic noise affects a large number of houses all along this road and is reflected in the
assessments of each and every one. Only the handful of houses opposite Eastwood's yard
are affected in addition by the noise emanating therefrom.
The Tribunal understands that Mr Morgan who has lived in the house for many years feels
strongly about the intensification of all noise along the road and from Eastwood's. But the
Tribunal must gauge whether the hypothetical tenant coming afresh to the scene would require
a higher reduction than 10% in the rent he offers because of the additional noise emanating
from the Eastwood yard and the McQuillan yard. The Tribunal has come to the conclusion that
the 10% end allowance is enough - it is assisted in this conclusion by the fact that other
occupiers in the group of houses Nos 29 to 45 Andersonstown Road have accepted that a
10% allowance is sufficient. Section 54(2) of the 1977 Order deems all the assessments for
those houses to be correct.
The Tribunal makes no change in the Net Annual Value of £325. No order as to costs.
ORDERS ACCORDINGLY
A L JACOBSON FRICS
21st November 1986
Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland
Appearances:Mr J McMeel, Solicitor (Crown Solicitor's Office) for the Commissioner of Valuation for
Northern Ireland.
Mr Morgan by himself.
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