Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

• The site was originally the location of the old Pembury Hospital and this facility needed to remain open whilst a new 700,000 sq ft hospital was being developed. 
• Ian had previous involvement in the Pembury site having advised the Trust for three previous rating revaluations. He was aware of the physical challenges of the site including its steep gradient. Ian was tasked with reducing the 2010 assessment for the Pembury site to reflect the phased closure and agreeing reduced assessments for the new hospital.
• The Trust instructed Montagu Evans to mitigate their overall rates liability on the site to reflect the closure of the old hospital and the opening of the new.

Our solution

• We provided the Trust with a strategy for removing the old Pembury Hospital from the Rating List and agreeing to an allowance to reflect the disturbance caused by the new build.
• The Trust also asked us to engage with the Valuation Office on the new 2010 assessment to be applied to the new hospital. The Valuation Office did engage initially and we agreed that the build cost would be reduced by nearly 6% which produced a resultant change in assessment.
• We then had to follow the appeal process. Ian advised the Trust that the best way of taking the discussions forward was to provide a full analysis of the construction costs so that the build cost applied in the valuation could be reduced. This approach further reduced the assessment by 12%.

Results achieved

• The appeal strategy for the Pembury Hospital ensured the rates were mitigated during the construction period that saved £200,000.
• ▪The cost analysis approach that Ian adopted for the new hospital resulted in a 17.5% reduction in the 2010 Rateable Value initially proposed by the Valuation Office, producing a saving of £2.5million.
• ▪ The discussions for the 2010 Revaluation are likely to assist with seeking to reduce the 2017 assessment and reduce the on-going liability through to 2021.