Snail farm investigation update given into what happened inside former BHS store in Fishergate

The former BHS store in Fishergate continues to stand empty awaiting a new use Pic: Blog Preston

The apparent installation of a snail farm inside the former BHS store resulted in no reduced business rates, Preston City Council has said.

Earlier this year, it was revealed the long-empty Fishergate building had been found to be used as a snail farm when council officers visited in 2019.

According to one of the people who stripped out the store and installed the snail farm boxes, the animals would spend three months there before being harvested and sent to restaurants for food.

After that cycle, a new set would be delivered for the process to be repeated. Such use would not be allowed without planning permission but is a tactic sometimes used to have a building reclassified as being used for agricultural purposes and therefore made exempt from business rates.

The council had previously declined to comment on the matter in any detail while investigations into the bizarre episode were ongoing. But a spokesperson has now given an update to Blog Preston.

Boxes shown near an old counter in the former BHS store Pic: Blog Preston

They said: “The misuse of the agricultural exemption for the use of snail farms in commercial premises is an avoidance tactic for business rates.

“To date, no agricultural exemption has been awarded on these premises.

“Our teams continue to monitor these situations and will not hesitate to take further action to challenge such tactics to maintain a fair tax system for all ratepayers.”

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