Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station among highest rates payers in country – paying more than Amazon and Barclays’ London offices with £9million annual bill

Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station is among highest rates payers in the UK with a £9million annual bill, new figures have revealed.

The facility is among other power stations, airports and retailers for having the biggest business rates bill in the UK this year, new research reveals.

The 50 largest rate paying sites in England and Wales will hand over £705 million in 2019, up 0.4% on a year ago, despite the actual tax rate rising 2.4% in line with inflation, according to data collated by business rates specialists Altus Group.

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Hartlepool’s facility features 34th on the list with a bill of £9,157,680. It sits just above Barclays Bank’s Canary Wharf offices, which has a £9,157,680 bill.

Former nuclear energy site Sellafield is the most expensive power station on the list, with a bill of £26.6 million - although this was down on the £27.6 million paid a year earlier.

Other power stations on the list including EDF's Sizewell B Power Station with a bill of £24,002,156, and Drax Power Station with a bill of £10,546,802.

Topping the list is London's Heathrow airport, with a rates bill of £117.96 million - although this was down from £122.15 million a year earlier, meaning the £4million cut was the biggest reduction by value of any business premise in the country.

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Business rates are paid by all commercial premises, raising the Treasury around £40billion a year.

But in recent years businesses - particularly high street retailers - have been calling on the Government to overhaul the system, saying it benefits online operations who typically pay lower rates bills due to not having stores in towns and cities.

The latest figures could add pressure on ministers to act, particularly following a year of bloodbaths on the high street that has hit Debenhams, LK Bennett, HMV and House of Fraser in the last 12 months.

Several restaurant chains have also gone under or been forced into cutting rents through CVAs, including Jamie's Italian, with most blaming high business rate bills for contributing to their woes.

Online giant Amazon also sneaks into the list for its London head office, which has a rates bill of £7.2 million for its 15 storey, 600,000 sq ft offices.