Rates

In Northern Ireland, rates are a property tax based on the capital, or market value of homes.  Rates of non-domestic properties, such as businesses and offices, are based on the rental value of your property.

The income from this tax contributes towards the cost of providing local government services, such as leisure services and bin collections, and central government services, such as education and health. 

Your rates bill is made up of two parts:

District rate: the district rate is fixed annually by individual councils and is used to pay for services such as bin collections, recycling and waste disposal, leisure services, street cleaning and parks.

Regional rate: the regional rate is set by central government and is used to pay for services such as roads, education and health.

Rate setting in Ards and North Down Borough Council (ANDBC) is a balance between affordable costs for ratepayers, maintaining quality of services and delivering ambitions for the Borough in relation to job creation, attracting visitors and regeneration.   

 

Revaluation of non-domestic rates

Land and Property Services (LPS) is revaluing all non-domestic properties in Northern Ireland for rates. A new Valuation List will come in to effect on 1 April 2020 based on rental values as at 1 April 2018.

The Revaluation does not increase income for the Council, it only redistributes the rates for individual properties (some properties rates will go up, some will go down and some will largely stay the same).

More information about your rates

Rates for 2021-22

At a special meeting on 25 February, Council struck the district rate for the Borough for 2021/22.
The domestic rate for 2020/21 is 0.3521p in the pound -  a rise of 2.2%
The non-domestic rate is 23.6818p in the pound - a rise of 2.2%

For the average household in Ards and North Down, this equates to an increase of less than £1 per month.

How we will use your rates in 2021-22

While COVID-19 challenges remain and will impact upon us in 2021/22 we believe that with continued financial prudence and Central Government support we can manage any difficulties ahead.  The rate we have set will allow us to continue investing in the Borough as we strive to support COVID recovery.  This is though projects including:  

  • Progressing our Borough-wide Greenways network.
  • Moving forward with redevelopment plans for Bangor Waterfront and better Borough-wide broadband, through the Belfast Region City Deal.
  • Seeking to deliver an Innovation Hub to support our growing creative technology sector  
  • Commencing plans for further cemetery provision, a new playpark at Ballycrochan, new trails at Cairn Wood and new facilities at Exploris and Portaferry Ropewalk.

We will also be working to consolidate and improve service delivery by: 

  • Building upon our recycling progress to date
  • Continuing to protect the local environment through proactive enforcement for environmental crime; our current level of enforcement is more than double the average of other Northern Ireland councils.  
  • Administering the COVID-19 Business Recovery Grant — £985K is being distributed directly to businesses within urban and rural areas, and funds are being put towards a range of campaigns and support measures.  
  • Working with local partners to support local people to build resilience as we emerge from this the pandemic.  
  • Protecting and promoting our open spaces and beaches with continued success in the Green/ Blue Flag awards. 
  • Supporting investment in new visitor facilities at Ballycopeland Windmill and continuing work to secure funding for the redevelopment of Whitespots Country Park.
  • Subject to COVID-19 restrictions, investing £1M in events to help animate the Borough and further support recovery from COVID-19.  
  • Supporting businesses to start, grow and thrive and providing opportunities for employment and skills development .
  • Maintaining our Investors in People Silver standard as we work to support our staff to deliver better services to the Borough. 

About the Council