Gallagher v Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Lord Justice Neuberger,Lord Justice Jacob,Lord Justice Mummery |
| Judgment Date | 24 November 2006 |
| Neutral Citation | [2006] EWCA Civ 1598 |
| Date | 24 November 2006 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
| Docket Number | Case No: C3/2006/0172 |
[2006] EWCA Civ 1598
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE LANDS TRIBUNAL
Mr George Bartlett QC
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Lord Justice Mummery
Lord Justice Jacob and
Lord Justice Neuberger
Case No: C3/2006/0172
RA622004
Mr Clive Newberry QC and Mr Richard Glover (instructed by Messrs Devonshires) for the Appellant
Mr Daniel Kolinsky (instructed by Solicitors Office (Inland Revenue)) for the Respondent
Introduction
This is an appeal brought by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ("the Appellant") against a preliminary determination made by the President of the Lands Tribunal, Mr George Bartlett QC, about the extent to which the various buildings on a site of approximately 15 acres at Temple Way, Chorley, Lancashire ("the site") are to be excluded from the rating list pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 11 Schedule 5 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 ("the 1988 Act").
Schedule 5 to the 1988 Act ("Schedule 5") sets out a number of categories of hereditament which are "exempt", i.e. which are to be excluded from the rating list, and therefore are not to be liable for business rates. Paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 ("paragraph 11") is in the following terms:
"11.— (1) A hereditament is exempt to the extent that it consists of any of the following—
(a) a place of public religious worship which belongs to the Church of England or the Church in Wales … or is for the time being certified as required by law as a place of religious worship;
(b) a church hall, chapel hall or similar building used in connection with a place falling within paragraph (a) above for the purposes of the organisation responsible for the conduct of public religious worship in that place.
(2) A hereditament is exempt to the extent that it—
(a) is occupied by an organisation responsible for the conduct of public religious worship in a place falling within sub-paragraph (1) (a) above, and
(b) is used for carrying out administrative or other activities relating to the organisation of the conduct of public religious worship in such a place."
In his clear and carefully reasoned decision, Mr Bartlett described the nature of the Appellant's religion (in summary form) and (in more detail) the site and the nature and use of the buildings on it. I propose to set out the effect of his description as shortly as is necessary for the purposes of determining the issues of this appeal.
The relevant facts
Consistently with the findings of Mr Bartlett, the Appellant church has what its counsel described as a "three-fold mission". First, to perfect the "Saints", which involves developing individual members towards the perfection of Christ. Secondly, proclaiming the Gospel to those who are willing to listen; this proclamation is not limited to people who are specifically trained as missionaries. Thirdly, redeeming the dead; as counsel says, prayers for the dead are a feature of the Christian tradition, but the particular feature of the Appellant's mission is that of baptising the dead by the living.
The site consists of a well-tended fifteen acres together with a number of well-maintained buildings, of which the relevant ones are as follows.
The Stake Centre is a single storey building with a gross internal area of 1,227 sq metres, consisting of a chapel and a multi-purpose hall (divided by a movable partitions) capable of holding a total of about 1,300 people, together with some small meeting rooms an office and a baptistery. As Mr Bartlett said, "public religious worship takes place in the chapel" and the "multi-purpose hall is used for sport, Sunday School and numerous local church meetings and social gatherings. The small rooms are used for local administration and for pastoral purposes, meetings, classes and various functions. Baptisms take place in the baptistery and the Stake sanctuary is also used for weddings".
The Preston Stake (roughly the equivalent of a Diocese in Church of England terms) has thirteen Wards, two of which are served by the Stake Centre, and people meet there each Sunday for directly religious purposes. For the rest of the week, as Mr Bartlett explained, the Stake Centre "is used for numerous church related meetings, youth activities and scripture study classes", all of which are open to the public, with the exception of administrative meetings.
The Temple has a gross internal area of over 6,300 sq metres. For members of the Appellant, its Temples are Houses of the Lord and the most sacred places on earth. Access to the Temple is generally restricted to "Patrons", who are members of the Appellant church who have reached a certain standing. To become a Patron, a person has to obtain a "recommend" from his local bishop, his branch President or his Stake President. Such a recommend is only given after what Mr Bartlett called "a searching interview designed to establish that the person accepts the religious beliefs of the Appellant. It serves as a pass to enter any Temple and is valid for a specified period of time. It can be renewed following another interview. The recommend must be shown before each visit to a Temple".
The ceremonies in the Temple, regarded by members of the Appellant as of deep theological significance, are referred to as "ordinances". There are various types of ordinance, including "sealing" which involves sanctifying civil marriage, binding a family together, or baptism of a patron on behalf of one or more deceased family member. Once inside the Temple, Patrons change into identical white clothes. As Mr Bartlett said, "particular rooms are reserved for the different Temple Ordinances, and there is a series of rooms leading to the Celestial Chamber, the most sacred place in the Temple, which is in the form of a luxurious sitting room."
The Missionary Training Centre is a three-storey building of a gross internal area of 1,730 sq metres. The lower ground floor has a restaurant, laundry and classrooms. The ground floor has further classrooms and offices and two bedrooms and the President's flat (which is subject to council tax) . The first floor has 18 dormitory rooms, together with rooms used for associated purposes (such as toilets and a laundry) . Young members of the Appellant are taught the importance of serving the Appellant's mission, and to devote up to two years proselytising full time in whatever locality the President of the Appellant decides. Many of those attending the Missionary Training Centre may come from the north of England, but many also come from overseas. At any one time the Centre accommodates up to 108 missionaries who are trained in a continuous nineteen-day cycle.
The Patrons' Services Building is a single-storey building of 523 sq metres gross internal area. One part is used as a general lounge and reception area for visitors to the site. A second part, known as the Distribution Centre, sells books, leaflets, CDs and tapes relating to the Appellant's activities, and Temple clothing. A third part contains the Family History Centre. As one of the doctrines of the Appellant is that the dead can be redeemed, genealogy is an important aspect of its activities, and the History Centre contains computers, microfilm readers and similar equipment to enable members of the Appellant to undertake their own research in this connection.
The Patrons' Accommodation is a two-storey building containing 35 en-suite rooms together with associated facilities (such as a kitchen, a dining room, a vestry and a laundry) with a gross internal area of about 1,720 sq metres. It also includes a caretaker's flat, which is subject to council tax. The rooms are let as very cheap short-stay units for members of the Appellant visiting the Temple; they may stay for up to fourteen nights.
The Temple Missionaries' Accommodation is a two-storey building of about 1,650 sq metres gross internal floor area. It has twenty self-contained flats, mostly occupied by Temple Missionaries staying for up to eighteen months. It is subject to council tax which is separately assessed for each flat.
Finally, the Grounds Building has a single floor with a gross internal area of about 290 sq meters. As Mr Bartlett said, it "houses machinery and equipment used for the maintenance of the grounds and all the buildings on the site", and contains "a workshop area, garage and plant room including the air-conditioning plant for the Temple".
After considering the uses to which each of the buildings was put, the wording of paragraph 11, and such case law as was available to him, Mr Bartlett concluded that the Stake Centre was exempt from rating, but that the other buildings on the site were not. In this connection, he agreed with the conclusions of the respondent Valuation Officer, Mr Gallagher, save that he rejected the view expressed by Mr Gallagher, at one time, that the Missionary Training Centre was exempt. In his written submissions, Mr Clive Newberry QC (who appeared for the Appellant below as he does before us) raised the point that the Appellant had been prejudiced in terms of presentation of its evidence by the fact that this concession on the part of the Valuation Officer had been withdrawn during the hearing. I am satisfied that there is nothing in that point, which, to be fair to Mr Newberry, he did not press in oral argument.
The Stake Centre
Mr Bartlett said that there was "no doubt that the Stake Centre is exempt" on the basis that it was "part chapel and part chapel hall. As a chapel it is...
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Gallagher v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, [2008] N.R. Uned. 264
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