Assessor for West Lothian v John and J. B. Cadzow
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 17 July 1957 |
| Docket Number | No. 37. |
| Date | 17 July 1957 |
| Court | Lands Valuation Appeal Court (Scotland) |
Lands Valuation Appeal Court.
Lord Patrick. Lord Sorn. Lord Hill Watson.
ValuationSubjectsTenant's erectionsBuilding erected on farm to house machinery for dressing and packing potatoesMachinery hired from company marketing vegetablesTenants of farm bound to supply whole potato crop to companyTenants bound to maintain supply of potatoes to company from other sourcesBulk of potatoes passing through building not grown on farmWhether building used for agricultural purposesLands Valuation (Scotland) Amendment Act, 1895 (58 and 59 Vict. cap. 41), sec. 4.
Sec. 4 of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Amendment Act, 1895, provides,inter alia, that any erections or structural improvements made or acquired by a lessee shall be separately entered in the Valuation Roll, the lessee being deemed to be proprietor; but this provision does not apply to, inter alia, "any erections or structural improvements made or acquired for agricultural purposes by the lessee of subjects wholly or mainly agricultural."
A firm of farmers, who were tenants of two farms, erected on one of them a substantial building to house machinery for the washing, grading and bagging of potatoes, on which process twenty-five to thirty persons were normally employed. Most of the machinery was hired by the firm from a company carrying on the business of processing, packing and marketing vegetables and fruit. The company also supplied the firm with sacks and bags into which the potatoes were packed. The firm were bound by contract to reserve annually their whole potato crop for use by the company and also to provide supplies of potatoes from other sources, as required, to ensure continuity of supply by the company to its customers. The bulk of the potatoes packed by the firm were not grown on their farms but were purchased by them from outside sources. The Assessor having entered the building in the Roll as a tenant's erection, with the benefit of industrial derating, the firm in an appeal against the entry contended that it should be deleted on the ground that the building had been erected and was being used for agricultural purposes and consequently was not liable to be entered in the Roll under sec. 4 of the 1895 Act.
Held that in the circumstances the building was being used not for agricultural purposes but for the purposes of the company's business of processing and packing vegetables; and consequently that it had been correctly entered by the Assessor in the Roll.
At a meeting of the Valuation Committee of the County Council of the County of West Lothian, Messrs John and J. B. Cadzow appealed against an entry in the supplementary Valuation Roll for the year ending Whitsunday 1957, in which they were shown as proprietors and tenants of packing premises erected by them at Glendevon Farm, Winchburgh, West Lothian. They maintained that the premises should be regarded as an erection made for agricultural purposes and accordingly craved that they should not be entered in the Roll. The Committee having allowed the appeal, the Assessor expressed dissatisfaction and asked for a case to be stated on appeal to the Lands Valuation Appeal Court.
The case stated that the following facts were admitted or held by the Committee to be proved or within the knowledge of the Committee:"(1) The appellants are the tenants of the farm of Glendevon, Winchburgh, in terms of a lease between the Most Honourable Victor Alexander John, Marquis of Linlithgow, with consent, and John Cadzow, dated 12th and 19th August 1908. The sole member of the appellants' firm is James Brian Cadzow. The said farm is a subject wholly agricultural. The said lease was for a period of nineteen years from Martinmas 1907, and since expiry of this period it has been continued by tacit relocation. Towards the end of 1956, with the approval of the landlords, the appellants erected on the said farm of Glendevon the premises which are the subjects of appeal. (2) The premises are substantially built of brick, with a timber truss roof covered with corrugated asbestos. They have a concrete floor and insulated roof, and space heaters are installed. The premises are a new structure, erected at right angles to an existing tractor shed, and the premises together with the said tractor shed form an L-shaped building. The total area of the said premises is 5210 square feet, of which the main building occupies 4144 square feet and the loading bay 1066 square feet. The main building was valued by the Assessor on the comparative principle at the rate of eightpence per square foot, bringing out a valuation of 138, and the loading bay at fourpence per square foot, bringing out a valuation of 16. The Assessor submitted a copy of his valuation, made in accordance with section 4 of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Amendment Act, 1895, and a copy of comparisons quoted by himThe Assessor proposed to value the premises at 150 for a full year and entered a valuation of 62, 10s. in the supplementary Valuation Roll for the past year from 15th December 1956 to Whitsunday 1957. (3) Towards the end of 1956 the appellants instituted a system with machinery for washing and bagging potatoes, and the said premises were erected and are used wholly for the purpose of housing the said system and machinery. The said machinery, which is operated by electricity, is installed in the premises and consists of a washing machine, rollers, elevators, a picking table and a weighing and packing table. The machinery has not been included in the valuation of the premises. (4) The appellants have entered into an agreement with merchants of agricultural produce known as Glenfox Limited, having their registered office at 32 Earl Grey Street, Edinburgh. This company was formed and incorporated on 4th December 1956 and Mr James Brian Cadzow owns one-third of its allotted share capital. The objects of the company are to carry on in the United Kingdom the business, both wholesale and retail, of processors and packers of vegetables and fruit and the selling and marketing thereof. The nominal capital of the company is 10,000 in 1 shares. In terms of the said agreementthe appellants are bound to reserve annually the whole potato crop so far as suitable for the company's purposes from the said farm of Glendevon and also from the farm of Hillend, of which the appellants are also tenants, for sale to the said company and undertake to provide supplies of suitable potatoes from other sources as required to ensure continuity of supply by the said company to the company's customers; and to prepare and bag all potatoes supplied to the company as the company may instruct. The said agreement put into a formal deed an arrangement which had already been...
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