A BIZARRE lottery of winners and losers has been thrown up in York and North Yorkshire by new rateable values for businesses unveiled by the Government.

Some businesses are seeing massive hikes, while others are finding their draft valuations - which help determine the amount they pay in business rates - frozen or even cut.

The National Railway Museum, which is already financially stretched following Government funding cutbacks, has seen its rateable value rocket by a staggering 135 per cent from £645,000 to a draft £1.5 million. The rateable value of Castle Howard, the stately home near Malton, is set to rise by 24 per cent from £106,000 to £131,250, while the figure for Flamingo Land near Pickering is set to soar by 37 per cent from £1,225,000 to £1,680,000.

In York, three pubs in the same street – High Petergate - have been dealt remarkably different fates. According to the Government’s website, The Lamb And Lion at number 2/4 is set to see its rateable value more than quadruple from £23,250 to £107,000.

But the Hole In The Wall at number 6 is set to rise from £46,100 to £65,400 and the York Arms at number 26 is set to see its value fall slightly from £22,200 to £22,000.

Meanwhile, in Fishergate, Alligator Wholefoods store is facing a 30 per cent increase in its rateable value from £10,000 to £13,000, despite falling turnover, says owner Steve Heyman.

He said the increase would take the shop above a £12,000 threshold below which he would not have had to pay any business rates at all.

“When I saw the figure I was horrified, “ he said. “I will appeal but suspect there will be many others appealing as well and it will all take a long time.”

A spokesman for the railway museum said that as part of the wider Science Museum Group, the museum was currently involved in a consultation process to review proposed rates increases and any transitional relief that might apply.

A spokeswoman for Castle Howard said: “The figure is correct but it’s too early for us to comment further at the moment.”

A spokeswoman for Marstons, which owns the Hole In The Wall, said it could not comment until it had been formally notified, and the owners of the Lamb & Lion and York Arms did not comment.

Rateable value broadly represents the yearly rent - the rentable value - for which a business property could be let.

It is then combined with a “multiplier” - a figure set by the Government each year - to determine the final bill.

A transitional arrangement will help companies adapt, limiting the amount that bills can go up each year to provide a financial cushion. All businesses with a rateable value over £12,000 have to pay rates, with some tapered relief for properties with a rateable value between £12,000 and £15,000.

A spokesman for the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) said the revaluation was normally carried out every five years, and took into account any changes in the rental market to maintain fairness in the system and did not raise extra revenue overall.

“Rateable values in the rating lists are used by councils to calculate business rates bills,” he said.

“We use a wide range of property information, including rental and other evidence to compare values across similar types of properties in order to set the rateable value. We published the draft valuations online six months before they come into force so businesses have time to plan for any changes.

“We use real evidence of actual rents paid on real properties, and have quality assured our work.

“We supplement the rental data we’ve received from ratepayers with quality-assured market knowledge reports collated by qualified chartered surveyors with knowledge and experience of the area or property type they were reporting on.”