Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

32 Rating exemption for fish farms in Scotland

After section 7 of the [1956 c. 60.] Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956 there shall be inserted—

“7A Provisions relating to lands and heritages used for fish farming and dwelling houses occupied in connection therewith.

(1) For the purpose of any valuation roll in force for the year 1981-82 or any subsequent year or for the making up of any valuation roll for any subsequent year the following provisions of this section shall have effect regarding lands and heritages to which this section applies and dwelling-houses occupied in connection therewith.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) lands and heritages (other than dwelling houses) used solely for or in connection with fish farming; and

(b) lands and heritages consisting of—

(i) one or more buildings (other than dwelling-houses) used solely for or in connection with fish farming; or

(ii) any land occupied together with and used solely in connection with the use of such building or buildings.

(3) No lands and heritages to which this section applies shall be entered in the valuation roll, and any reference in any enactment to the person appearing from the valuation roll to be the owner or the occupier of any lands and heritages shall on and after the first day of April nineteen hundred and eighty-one, have effect in the case of lands and heritages to which this section applies as if the reference to the valuation roll were omitted.

(4) Subsections (5) to (8) of section 7 of this Act shall have effect in relation to the gross annual value of any dwelling-house which—

(a) is occupied in connection with lands and heritages to which this section applies; and

(b) is used as the dwelling-house of a person engaged primarily in carrying on or directing fish farming operations on these lands and heritages or employed in connection with fish farming thereon; and

(c) is suitable in character and size for such use in connection with those lands and heritages

as they have in relation to the gross annual value of any dwelling-house referred to in subsection (4) of that section, and in that connection any reference in the said subsections (5) to (8) to agricultural lands and heritages shall be construed as a reference to lands and heritages to which this section applies.

(5) Where part of lands and heritages consists of one or more buildings or one or more parts of buildings (being a part of lands and heritages which is used for such a purpose that if it were in separate occupation it would be lands and heritages to which this section applies), then that part of the lands and heritages and the remainder shall each be treated as respects the year 1981-82 and subsequent years for the purposes of the Valuation Acts as if it were lands and heritages in separate occupation.

(6) In subsection (5) above, any reference to a building or part of a building shall be construed as including a reference to land occupied together with and used solely in connection with the use of such building or part.

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

(8) In this section—

• " 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.”.