Kent’s Discovery Park has avoided paying more than £1 million in business rates by claiming empty units on the site are being used as places of worship.

Bosses at the 220-acre science and technology park in Sandwich insist the vacant spaces have been repurposed for religious reasons to “support the needs” of its “diverse workforce”.

They argue this qualifies the units for a 100% tax exemption afforded to places of public worship, such as churches and chapels.

But Dover District Council does not accept the claims and is considering enforcement action through the High Court to recover the huge sum.

The authority says over the period of the dispute - understood to be two years - Discovery Park owes business rates for more than 60 units.

The row came to light after resident Kay Marsh asked DDC leader Kevin Mills at a council meeting last month if Discovery Park owed the authority “millions”.

In a written response to Ms Marsh, Cllr Mills said: “The council is aware of over 60 hereditaments (units) within Discovery Park that have been claimed to be available for use as places of worship for varying lengths of time during the period of this dispute.

“The council does not accept this scheme for rate mitigation and has not given effect to the scheme.

“Accordingly, the council has raised business rates bills to Discovery Park for the units and is seeking to pursue enforcement action at the High Court.

“The total amount the council is seeking to recover, for the period of this dispute, is over £1 million.”

Discovery Park has disputed the figure put forward by Cllr Mills, saying it is “less than a third of this number”.

In England and Wales, places of public worship are exempt from paying business rates if they belong to either the Church of England or the Church in Wales, or are certified as a place of religious worship by the General Register Office.

The exemption is not afforded to places not open to the general public.

Discovery Park is home to 180 businesses employing more than 3,500 people

It says it is “actively engaging” with DDC to find a “satisfactory resolution” to the business rates issue.

“While we cannot comment on specific legal proceedings, we have repurposed vacant spaces into places of worship to support the needs of our diverse workforce,” a spokesperson said.

“This has been done in full accordance with interfaith organisation Faithful, which is supported by local authorities throughout the UK, and all necessary documentation has been submitted.

“We remain committed to working collaboratively with the council to find a satisfactory resolution while continuing to drive innovation, economic growth, and job opportunities for the region.”

Ms Marsh had initially asked Cllr Mills to approve a £20,000 donation from DDC to a charity supporting the people of Gaza - the equivalent of DDC’s share of the 2023/24 business rates paid to the authority by Instro Precision.

Instro Precision, which owns and operates a plot of land within the broader campus of Discovery Park, manufactures high-precision military equipment claimed to be used by the Israel Defense Forces.

The request was denied by Cllr Mills, but Ms Marsh is now calling for a “small proportion” of any recovered business rates from Discovery Park to be donated to charities helping those impacted in Gaza.