British Transport Commission v Assessor for Glasgow
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 27 February 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 39.,No. 28.,No. 60. |
| Date | 27 February 1953 |
| Court | Lands Valuation Appeal Court (Scotland) |
Lands Valuation Appeal Court.
Lord Keith. Lord Patrick. Lord Sorn.
ValuationSubjectsRailwayExemption of "railway lands and heritages" from valuation and ratingExclusion from exemption of premises "occupied as a dwelling-house"Railway premises occupied as hostel for train crews unable to return home at conclusion of workWhether "occupied as a dwelling-house"Local Government Act, 1948 (11 and 12 Geo. VI, cap. 26), secs. 85 and 86.
The Local Government Act, 1948, as applied to Scotland by sec. 145, enacts by sec. 85 (1) that no premises which are or form part of railway lands and heritages shall be liable to be rated or included in any Valuation Roll. A proviso to sec. 86 (1) excludes from the definition of railway lands and heritages, inter alia, any premises occupied as a dwelling-house.
A hostel in Glasgow, occupied by the British Transport Commission and used for the accommodation of train crews living elsewhere and unable to return home after terminating their work in Glasgow, was entered by the Assessor in the local Roll, on the view that it was occupied as a dwelling-house. The hostel contained sixty-seven sleeping cubicles, a dining room, kitchen, recreation room, drying room and toilet facilities. Most of the men using the hostel came from England. The frequency of their employment on the Glasgow run varied, but when so employed they used the hostel three times in the course of a week, the average length of their stay there being ten hours. They arrived and left at any hour of the day or night and were charged Is. per stay for the use of a cubicle.
Held that the hostel, in view of the character of the men's residence there and, more particularly, its transitory nature and lack of continuity, was not occupied as a dwelling-house.
Railway Assessment Authority v. Great Western Railway Co.ELR, [1948] A. C. 234, and Railway Executive v. Woking Urban District CouncilUNK, (1952) 116 J. P. 423,distinguished.
At a meeting of the Valuation Appeal Committee for the City and Royal Burgh of Glasgow the British Transport Commission appealed against an entry in the Valuation Roll for the year ending Whitsunday 1953, the subject of which was a house and hostel at 1 Inglefield Street, Glasgow. The appellants craved that the entry should be deleted from the Roll. The Committee dismissed their appeal and, at their request, stated a case for appeal to the Lands Valuation Appeal Court. [Case. 851]
The stated case set forth that the following facts were admitted or were held by the Committee to be proved or were within the knowledge of the Committee:"(1) The subject of appeal consists of a hostel for railway workers, including a dwelling-house occupied by a matron or caretaker. (2) This hostel has been in existence since 1938 and has been used as a hostel since then. In 19391940 the subjects were entered in the Valuation Roll prepared by the Assessor of Public Undertakings as part of the railway undertaking, with the exception of the portion of the subject occupied by the matron or caretaker, which was excluded by the Assessor of Public Undertakings from the Valuation Roll made up by him, and was entered by the City Assessor in the Valuation Roll made up by him, separately, as a dwelling-house. The subjects, excluding the house, were entered in the Roll prepared by the Assessor of Public Undertakings until 19471948, when, in terms of the Local Government Act, 1948, certain railway and other public utility undertakings ceased to appear in any Valuation Roll and were not subject to any local rating.1 (3) The hostel, including the dwelling-house, has this year been entered in the Valuation Roll prepared by the City Assessor, and parties are agreed that the annual value to be placed on the whole subjects, should they properly fall to be entered in the Roll, is the sum of 625. The parties are further agreed that the said dwelling-house in any event falls to be entered in the Roll as heretofore, at the annual value of 25. (4) The building consists mainly of three storeys. It comprises sixty-seven cubicles affording sleeping accommodation, with dining room and kitchen facilities. A recreation room, drying room and various toilet facilities are provided. In addition there is a caretaker's dwelling-house. (5) The hostel is used to afford accommodation to train crews, which include drivers, firemen, guards, ticket collectors and dining car staffs, travelling mainly from south of the border, who terminate their day's work in Glasgow. Under the National Railwaymen's Agreement such men must, except on very special occasions, have nine hours' rest when away from home and twelve hours' rest at their own depot before going on duty again. The register produced, showing the men who are booked into the hostel from May till July 1952, and when they leave the hostel, however, discloses that on occasions men have been admitted to the hostel from the Glasgow area. The frequency with which any particular train crew is employed for a week on the run to Glasgow varies, but when so employed the members of the crew generally stay in the hostel three times in that week. (6) On an average eighty or ninety men are provided with accommodation on six days of the week and about half that number on Sundays. The men arrive at and leave the hostel at any hour of the day or night. (7) The staff consists of approximately fifteen persons and includes a matron, attendants, cook, &c. With the exception of the matron, who occupies the said dwelling-house as aforesaid, the said persons do not reside in the hostel premises. (8) The men using the hostel are provided with a cubicle for their exclusive
use, for which they pay 1s. per stay. Meals are provided, for which a charge is also made. These charges are deducted from the men's wages at their home depot each week."The contentions of the parties were stated as follows:
"The appellants contended that the subjects are a railway hereditament as defined in section 86 (1) of the Local Government Act, 1948, and as such cannot be entered in the Valuation Roll prepared by the City Assessor; that the subjects are occupied for the purposes of part of the undertaking which is concerned with the carriage of goods or of passengers by rail; that the subjects are not occupied as a dwelling-house within the meaning of section 86 (1) of the Local Government Act, 1948; that in order that subjects may be said to be occupied as a dwelling-house there must be a reasonable degree of permanency of residence therein, and that in regard to the subjects of appeal that element was lacking. It was further contended that, if the subjects were included in the Valuation Roll made up by the City Assessor, a double assessment would be involved, viz., an assessment in respect of local rates and the amount in respect of the premises included in the sum to be paid as the standard amount fixed in terms of the 1948 Act aforesaid, and that in all these circumstances the entry should be deleted from the Valuation Roll.
"The City Assessor contended that the train crews when away from home in the course of their employment with the Railway Executive dwell in the hostel, that the subjects under appeal are occupied as a dwelling-house within the meaning of the proviso to section 86 of the Local Government Act, 1948, and that in these circumstances the subjects are properly entered in the Valuation Roll made up by him."
The decision of the Committee was:"The Committee, having considered the evidence and arguments for the respective parties, were of opinion that in the circumstances the premises are occupied as a dwelling-house within the meaning of the said Local Government Act, 1948, and that they are properly entered in the local Valuation Roll, and dismissed the appeal."
The case was heard before the Lands Valuation Appeal Court on 11th February 1953.
At advising on 27th February 1953,
LORD SORN .The question raised in this case is whether a hostel in Glasgow, belonging to the British Transport Commission, should enter the local Valuation Roll, or should be omitted as being a "railway hereditament" within the meaning of section 86 (1) of the Local Government Act, 1945.10 It is not in dispute that the hostel is used for railway purposes, but the City Assessor has acted on the view that it is struck at by the proviso to section 86 (1), which is as follows:[His Lordship quoted the terms of the proviso, and continued]The Transport Commission contend that the hostel is not occupied as a dwelling-house and that the entry should be deleted from the Roll.
The hostel has been in existence since 1938 and has been used as a hostel continuously since then. Prior to the coming into effect of the Local Government Act, 1948,10 it was entered in the Roll of the Assessor of Public Undertakings as part of the railway undertaking, except for that portion of it which was occupied by the caretaker. The caretaker's portion, referred to as the caretaker's house, was entered by the City Assessor in the local Roll. After 1948 the hostel ceased to appear in any Roll, being treated as a railway hereditament, and the caretaker's house continued to appear in the local Roll. For the current year the City Assessor has entered the hostel, including the caretaker's house, in his Roll at a value of 625, and parties are agreed that, if the entry is to stand, the value is a proper one. It is also a matter of agreement that, if the entry is wrong, the caretaker's house should continue to appear in he local Roll at the old figure of 25.
The hostel contains sixty-seven cubicles which afford sleeping accommodation. There is a dining room, a kitchen and a recreation room; also a drying room and various toilet facilities. The hostel is used exclusively to provide accommodation for train crews who terminate their day's work in Glasgow and whose home is elsewhere. Under the National Railwaymen's Agreement such men must...
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