Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

31 Rating exemption for fish farms in England and Wales

After section 26 of the 1967 Act there shall be inserted—

“26A Fish farms.

(1) Neither of the following—

(a) land;

(b) buildings (other than dwellings),

shall be liable to rates or to be included in any valuation list or in any rate if used solely for or in connection with fish farming.

(2) The gross value for the purposes of section 19(2) of this Act of a house occupied in connection with land or buildings used solely for or in connection with fish farming and used as the dwelling of a person who—

(a) is primarily engaged in carrying on or directing fish farming operations on that land or in those buildings ; or

(b) is employed in fish farming operations on that land or in those buildings in the service of the occupier thereof and is entitled, whether as tenant or otherwise, so to use the house only while so employed,

shall, so long as the house is so occupied and used, be estimated by reference to the rent at which the house might reasonably be expected to let from year to year if it could not be occupied and used otherwise than as mentioned in this subsection or in section 26(2) of this Act.

(3) In determining for the purposes of this section whether land or a building used for or in connection with fish farming is solely so used no account shall be taken of any time during which it is used in any other way, if that time does not amount to a substantial part of the time during which the land or building is used for or in connection with fish farming.

(4) In this section—

• " building " includes a separate part of a building; and

• " fish farming" means the breeding or rearing of fish or the cultivation of shellfish (including crustaceans and molluscs of any description) for the purpose of producing food for human consumption or for transfer to other waters but does not include the breeding, rearing or cultivation of any fish or shellfish—

  (a)

  which are purely ornamental, or

  (b)

  which are bred, reared or cultivated for exhibition.”.