Rates on Agricultural Land (Relief) Act, 1939

Provisions in relation to urban districts.

11.—(1) Where a portion of the agricultural grant payable to the council of a county is required by virtue of section 50 of the Act of 1898 to be applied by such council in relief of agricultural land in an urban district from rates, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the said portion of the said agricultural grant shall not be altered in amount by reason of the increase by virtue of this Act of the amount of the said grant;

(b) the said portion of the said agricultural grant shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section 50 of the Act of 1898, be paid by such council directly to the council of such urban district;

(c) the council of such urban district shall divide the sum so paid to them amongst all the agricultural land in such urban district in proportion to the several valuations thereof and shall allow the amount assigned on such division to any particular agricultural land as an abatement from the amount of the poor rate made for the service of the relevant financial year on such agricultural land or on the tenement which includes such agricultural land;

(d) if the rate of the abatement (in this section referred to as the normal rate of abatement) made in any urban district in pursuance of the next preceding paragraph of this section is less than the primary allowance rate in the county in which such urban district is situate, the council of such urban district shall (subject to the provisions of the next following paragraph of this section) make, in the relevant financial year in accordance with this Act to every person rated in respect of a tenement of agricultural land in such urban district, an allowance (in this Act referred to as an additional allowance) calculated on the specified valuation of such agricultural land and at a rate equal to the difference between the said normal rate of abatement and the said primary allowance rate;

(e) where an additional allowance is required by the next preceding paragraph of this section to be made in respect of any agricultural land, the council of the urban district shall reduce or, where necessary, wholly omit to make the additional allowance where and so far as may be necessary to secure that the difference between the normal rate on land (as hereinafter defined) in such urban district and the rate in the pound of the said additional allowance is not less than one-quarter of the said normal rate on land;

(f) in this section the expression “normal rate on land” means in relation to any particular urban district, the difference between the total rate in the pound of all rates (including rates other than poor rate) payable in the relevant financial year in respect of agricultural land in such urban district and the normal rate of abatement in such urban district;

(g) the council of the county in which an urban district is situate shall pay out of the agricultural grant to the council of such urban district the amount of all additional allowances required by this Act to be made by the council of such urban district in pursuance of this section;

(h) whenever the sum actually paid in the relevant financial year to the council of a county in respect of agricultural grant is more or less than the sum stated in the second column of the Schedule to this Act in respect of such county, the total amount payable by virtue of this section by the council of such county to any council of an urban district in such county out of the agricultural grant shall be increased or reduced as the case may require proportionately to the amount by which the said sum so actually paid as aforesaid is more or less than the said sum so stated in the said second column.

(2) Every doubt, question, and dispute which shall arise as to the amount of the normal rate on land in any particular urban district shall be determined by the Minister, and the determination of such doubt, question, or dispute by the Minister shall be final and conclusive.