A LOCAL authority has closed last year's accounts with a £9m deficit after being told it had to pay back business rates to Sellafield.

Copeland Borough Council has been ordered to pay the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority £12.6m after it was decided the NDA had been paying too much in business rates.

In 2010, the NDA, which owns Sellafield, appealed against the cost of business rates on all its properties throughout the UK, leaving Copeland Borough Council with a huge financial bill.

Mike Starkie, elected mayor of Copeland, said the issue is "complex" but added that the situation should have no impact on residents.

He said: “This is a complex financial issue; it was difficult to predict because the change in government policy happened after the appeal was first lodged.

"However, we have a financial plan to mitigate the impact of this, and we are working with Sellafield to get the best outcome for the borough.”

The council has assured residents that there will be no impact on jobs or statutory services because of the situation but some non-statutory project may be postponed.

According to a change in law in 2013, Copeland Borough Council found itself responsible for reimbursing almost half of the money, with the rest being divided between Cumbria County Council (10 per cent) and central government (50 per cent).

A statement from Copeland Borough Council said: "Knowing the appeal had been lodged, we set aside money each year so that we would have a pot of money prepared if the appeal was successful.

"While we had made adequate provision to repay this money, there is an additional impact which affects our financial position by £9.1m and creates a deficit of that sum on our own accounts."

Having such a large employer on its doorstep means Copeland finds itself in a unique position that is unrivalled by any other authority in the UK.

The council receives 70 per cent of its business rates revenue from Sellafield, the second largest amount outside Heathrow Airport, leaving the council with a considerable dip in revenue.

Council leaders are now working to find a way forward from the announcement to ensure services are not affected.

Copeland Borough Council stated: "Discussions are under way with Sellafield about the terms of the rates refund.

"We are working together with the government to ensure our Council is not disadvantaged.

"We’re making sure the government is fully aware of the uniqueness of the position we are facing."

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