“inspection revealed that the premises are now being used as an office.”
Ian Paisley Snr and Jnr’s new constituency office [still?] doesn’t have permission to be used as an office, and in today’s Belfast Telegraph Chris Thornton reveals that Ian Paisley Snr’s Belfast constituency office had, for several years, been assessed for rates as a private dwelling house despite being used as a constituency office. From the Belfast Telegraph
The Ravenhill Road property was recently inspected by officials from Land and Property Services after a query from the Belfast Telegraph about the building’s status. The agency’s website has listed the office as a house for several years. As a result of the inspection, the building was reclassified from a home to an office . Since then it has been described by the DUP as Mr Paisley’s North Antrim advice centre. Mr Paisley represents the constituency as both an MP and MLA, but lives in Belfast near the Ravenhill Road building. The office has also been used in the past by Ian Paisley junior.
How’s that brand doing again?
Also in the report, the statement from the Department of Finance and Personnel..
In a statement, the Department of Finance and Personnel, which has overall responsibility for rates, said: “The property at 256 Ravenhill Road, Belfast had been entered in the valuation list as a private dwelling house. Land & Property Services had no record of information to indicate that this property was used other than wholly for this purpose. Its external appearance is that of a dwelling house and there is no external identification that would indicate that it is used as an office. The property has now been inspected internally by the District Valuer’s staff. This inspection revealed that the premises are now being used as an office.
“The District Valuer, therefore, issued a Certificate of Valuation on 23 April 2008 removing the property from the domestic valuation list and entering the premises into the non-domestic valuation list. In line with normal process in such matters, Land & Property Services (revenue collection) will be writing to the occupier to ascertain the effective date of the change from domestic to non-domestic status.”
A spokesman confirmed that the occupier is liable for rates from that “effective date of change”.
“The Ravenhill Road property …has been described by the DUP as Mr Paisley’s North Antrim advice centre.”
Oh right, here’s me thinking…
God doth not dwell here anymore ….
“The Ravenhill Road property …has been described by the DUP as Mr Paisley’s North Antrim advice centre.”
They’ve learnt something from Ryanair, then!
On a wing and a prayer.
backdating should be interesting as I remember attending a meeting with Jnr in 1998 and it was an office then.
power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
rotten to the core – well shot of the both of them
From the BT,
Officials say Dr Paisley and his staff were under no legal obligation to notify them of the change from dwelling to office
There’s something wrong with the bloody law then.
David McAllister, Moyle DUP councillor and fourth man [jpg] in the now familiar ‘I know of him’ photo, may also face a change in rates, not just for the office that is used for political purposes but also for his own home which appears to act as an office for GSG Homes Limited.
[aside]The railway belonging to the third man in the photo, Seymour Sweeney, [post #8] has been in the news these past few days in north Antrim.
They are men of God, and would not use taxpayers money for their own benefit. Repeat..
They are men of God, and would not use taxpayers money for their own benefit.
Repeat, ad nauseum
The Lord’s accountants move in mysterious ways. Maybe, for all we know, this profit is heading to the refugees in Burma and China! Don’t forget..
They are men of God, and would not use taxpayers money for their own benefit.
My reckoning is that Ian Junior is planning to use the money in a selfless christian endeavour to help poor people and the starving etc etc
Driftwood,
If they are God’s bankers they would be well advised to stay away from London, particularly London Bridge.
[i]If they are God’s bankers they would be well advised to stay away from London, particularly London Bridge.
Posted by joeCanuck on May 22, 2008 @ 12:15 PM[/i]
Replace the B with a W and you are closer to the mark, in my opinion. But it noce to see “men of god” proving my assertion that organised religion is the largest confidance trick in the world.
Everyone is under a duty not to give false information be it written or by omission … its at the bottom of all legal documents when one comes to sign and date it: ignorance of the law is no defence either!
Maybe we should now look at the books of the Free Presbyterian Church when the first minister was moderator to confirm that it truly did deserve its charitable status for the last several decades. Do I hear the knock from HM Customs and Excise a calling…
In the interests of accuracy and to warn “God’s bankers” properly, I believe joeCanuk really intended to refer to Blackfriars Bridge (11 above).
London Bridge is the site of the bridge where, in times of yore, the severed heads of miscreants were displayed on pikes.
Now there’s a thought…….
I live next door to that house. 15 years ago Ian Paisley Jr. lived there with his family. Around 1998 they spent periods there when they were moving to a bigger house. But by 2000 or 2001 no-one lived there, there was just the library you could see through the windows.
Indeed, barcas. Thank you. I think London Bridge currently resides in the Arizona desert. And apparently the buyers were under the impression that they were getting Tower Bridge.
joeCanuk.
You are correct in saying that a London Bridge ended up in the Arizona Desert as an exhibit in a sort of theme park there. The claim that the purchaser thought he was buying Tower Bridge is a nice story but is, however, believed to be something of an urban myth.
In 1596 a German visitor to London is recorded to have counted 30 heads on pikes on the mediaeval bridge which existed at that time.
You can read the whole story at:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/London_Bridge
It is worth a visit if you like macabre stories.
For instance, they used to pickle the heads in tar to preserve them before being exhibited.
No problems here for the Doc. He can use the same excuse Billy Armstrong does by claiming that sometimes MLA’s are outside the law but not by much.It is interesting that Sir Reg has said nothing so one can only assume that he to approves of fraud.