THE leading SNP adminstration have said they won't "jump in with both feet" to support a move Labour have said would assist the historic Ship Inn in Irvine re-opening sooner.

Labour councillor Robert Foster placed the question to the SNP councillor Tony Gurney at a full council meeting on Wednesday, September 21, discussing the venue's "utterly ridiculous" yearly business rates.

Irvine's oldest pub, which dates back to 1567, has remained closed since the death of one of its owners, Jamie Murray, in July 2020.

Upon re-opening, it is expected The Ship would have to pay historic £71,000 per anum business rates - a figure which Labour councillors say does not take into account their current, redeveloped position.

These redevelopments include the upstairs portion of the venue no longer being used as a function area - and it will be removed from the licence.

Labour feel these business rates need to be addressed at the earliest possible opportunity.

Councillor Robert Foster said: “The importance of the Ship Inn to Irvine Harbourside cannot be underestimated. For decades, The Ship has been an integral part of the harbourside experience.

“It has been closed for over two years and yet they are expected to pay historic business rates of £71,000 per year to reopen.

“With £14million of public money about to be invested in the Harbourside through the Great Harbour project, it has never been more important to support local businesses in Irvine Harbourside.

“With the cost of everything else going through the roof, and significant investment being made to renovate the building, it is utterly ridiculous that the business rates for the Ship Inn are not being reassessed to provide a fair reflection on its current position."

Though North Ayrshire Council do not have 100 per cent say in the situation, with re-assesment decisions lying with the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board (AVJB).

Cllr Foster posed the question question to Cllr Gurney whether he would: "Join with me in writing to the AVJB expressing those views and the importance of the Shipp and ask them to reassess the rateable value of this at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Cllr Gurney responded: “Unfortunately, councillor Foster I won’t do that, because we have governance in place for setting rates, and that’s via the AVJB and as you know we have representation on that joint board.

“And I would heartly recommend that he speaks to his colleagues who attend that on behalf of the council.

“We have governance structures in place for everything that we do, and the temptation is always to jump in with both feet whenever the next issue applies, and change those governance structures for one person or for one business or for one organisation.

“That tends to lead to poor leadership, poor governance, and a poor administration of any council.

“So, whilst the council and it’s business team will do everything in it’s power to help with the new ownership of the Ship Inn, rates and their valuations, quite rightly, lie with the joint valuation board, and they should stay there.”

Cllr Foster told the Times: “The Council should be supporting the owners of the Ship Inn to reopen. It is incredibly disappointing that the SNP Cabinet Member will not even send a letter to the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board asking them to reassess the business rates.”

While in an earlier portion of his response, Cllr Gurney discussed measures which would support the historic business in re-opening.

He said: “In terms of the available support from this council, the building has listed building status and therefore has had one hundred per cent empty property relief since April 1, 2021.

“Before that, as part of the pandemic support measures, for the financial year 2021/22 the property automatically received retail hospitality and leisure relief again at 100 per cent.

“When the property re-opens for trade, the rate payer would be entitled to apply for the 12 month fresh start relief and again that would provide 100 per cent relief from the first day of trading.”

However, it did appear availability of this fresh start relief may not be as straightforward as Cllr Gurney discussed.

The council website states, in reference to this relief: "To qualify for this relief the Rateable Value of your property must be £65,000 or less."

With the rateable value of the Ship Inn being placed at £6,000 above this figure, an exception to the regular rule of thumb would have to be made for the venue to receive this relief.

Though, after approaching Cllr Gurney on this, the Times can confirm this website was "out of date" and this figure should now be £95,000.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council explained: “The Fresh Start Relief Scheme was amended by the Scottish Government with effect from April 1, 2021, raising the threshold to £95,000 from the previous £65,000 level.

"This allows certain properties which have been empty for at least six months prior to being occupied, to claim a discount of 100 per cent for a period of 12 months from the date of occupation.

“Our Business Development team has been supporting The Ship Inn through this time and will make contact to ensure that they are aware of the details on the Fresh Start scheme.

“More generally businesses wishing any advice on Business Rates relief should contact businessrates@north-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01294 310121.

“As the Council has no control over the appeals process or the timescales of the Assessor, appeals on the Rateable Value of a property must be made directly to the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board.

“Companies wishing to discuss an appeal on the Rateable Value should contact Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board, 9 Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1HL, by email at assessor@ayrshire-vjb.gov.uk or calling 01292 612221.

“In addition, the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board website provides information on the appeal process for Non-Domestic Rates at www.ayrshire-vjb.gov.uk/appeal-procedure.”