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Ref: 296
Sales Information around AVD has been gathered from residents and Park Home Site Operators, which will be
used to formulate a Practice Note for the revaluation of this category of dwelling. In order to accurately analyse
this information and arrive at the correct revaluation bands, it is necessary for all Park Home Sites across the
Group to be rereferenced.
Spreadsheets have been setup on the ‘R’ drive within Mobile Homes folders for each office that can be used to store information on individual homes on each site. Referencers should record the following information:
1. A photograph and record of the manufacturer, model, size and age of each Key Sale Property. These
Key Sale Properties fall into two categories:
a. Those where a change of council taxpayer has been identified by the billing authority and a questionnaire has been served on that new occupier. These appear on a spreadsheet named “Control Sheet VO7042”, stored by individual billing authority areas in each local office Mobile Homes folder on the ‘R’ drive. The updating of our records should include all these homes, irrespective of whether the questionnaire has been returned.
b. Those where changes in ownership have been identified by the Park Home Site Operator. This information has been provided on questionnaires, issued to the operators of all identified park home sites in the group. A copy of the letter and questionnaire is attached. Not all questionnaires have been returned, so the process may be ongoing for some time.
2. Photographs, dimensions and a record of the manufacturer, model, size and age of any units replaced by newer homes, where the VOA has not been notified. The referencer will need to identify replaced units by crossreferring the domestic survey details of every unit with what appears ‘on the ground’. Billing authorities may not have been informed of all replacement units and consequently, reports will not have been raised. This is an important issue, as early signs indicate that fewer mobile/park homes will fall in Band A after the revaluation.
3. Where VO records are incomplete, or inaccurate, these should be similarly updated, as in the case of Key Sale Properties or Replaced units. The Estate File spreadsheet on the ‘R’ drive should contain a complete record of all assessments as at the date of inspection. These can be entered on the first sheet entitled Dwellings and this will be used, as the banding sheet once the analysis is complete. The Estate File will enable regular reviews of sites to be undertaken and alterations made as necessary throughout the life of the 2005 list.
4. A plan of the site, produced from Digital Mapping can be used to note the manufacturer, model, size and age of each unit on each site. Any additional units, not assessed, can then be easily identified and brought into the CT List and entered on the spreadsheet as necessary. In addition a statutory notice for each new occupier should be served. Contact for relevant information.
5. Photographs of the general layout of each site should be taken and a note made of any amenities provided, along with details of the site’s convenience to local services, such as shops, bus routes, local communities, etc. As park homes are occupied primarily by the retirement sector, the convenience of such amenities is important.
General photos of the sites can be stored on the ‘R’ drive, in the Mobile Homes folder.
6. Photographs of individual units are to be linked to the live entries on the CDB and in the case of Key Sales Properties, copied over to the VO7400 template, which may then be completed by the referencer.
At this stage the Band and Acceptable Variations fields may be left blank.
7. The information gathered for each home can be summarised on the spreadsheet. A template named Mobile home estate file is stored in the Mobile Homes folder for each office on the ‘R’ drive. Each site spreadsheet can be saved under the BA code and site nameindividual office examples appear on the ‘R’ drive.
The Key Sales Properties can at this stage be entered on the second linked spreadsheet, entitled Key Sales and accessed from this button at the bottom of the Excel page. Only columns A, B, C, I, J and O need completing, as the spreadsheet is selfcalculating.
I would suggest that the site operators are contacted and arrangements made to carry out the inspections, accompanied by the operator if requested. The operator will be a vital source of information on occupiers’ details, manufacturer, age of the homes, etc.
The Estate File for each site will be used instead of the normal ‘banding sheet’ when this category falls to be revalued, after the Practice Note is issued.
will provide the information gathered to each Band 4 responsible for CT Reval on his next round of office visits. The required timescale is for the sites to be referenced and the spreadsheets completed by 31 December 2003.
23 October 2003
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