Ken Kirk, managing director of port terminal operators Stanton Grove, based at Seaforth Dock, said he faces a bill of £300,000 as a direct result of the Valuation Office Agency’s mistake.
He said: “In the warehouse, we have 20 guys working there and now we’ve got to find immediately an extra £300,000 in backdated rates and then £150,000 a year going forward, and that’s a new cost to our business.”
Lord Bates, the shadow local government secretary, had been due to table an amendment in the Lords on Monday seeking to clarify that there would be no backdating.
Mersey Maritime business development director Dave Pendleton said he had already tried to convince the Government of the very real economic disaster facing Merseyside ports.
He added: “You can see first hand that it’s a reality for these companies that they will have to start rethinking their business plans. This could make them uncompetitive and possibly force them out of business.”
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: “The decision was made by Parliament as a whole and not by government to reject Lords amendments.”
