Healthy Planet

[Jeanied]

Oooh there is one in Slough - not far from me!

[Mikey]

Do you go to the one in Carmarthen VC, OH has her hair cut there I thought I might take the nipper and find it, is it in the town centre?

How does it work, do they accept donations aswell?

[veggiechicken]

Yes Mikey, Carmarthen, on the Pensarn trading estate the other side of the river to the town centre. I park there (free) and walk into town. Plenty of books, for nippers and big kids. Limit of 3 books each to take away. As many mags as you can carry. Videos. They also sell junk furniture and ironmongery - bags of nails, hinges etc that have been donated in aid of Tools for SelfReliance. Donations of tools and books etc all received.
Check out their opening times on Faceache as they vary.Healthy Planet Carmarthen | Facebook.
Definitely worth a look.

[Mikey]

Thanks VC, I know exactly where that is, I'll have to pop in there soon. I normally take our books to hay on wye, but would much rather do this.

[Pappa smirf]

Green washed

If something looks too good to be true, it generally is.

Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - in Financial Times
Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - FT.com

Healthy Planet Buys books at wholesale prices -5p per kg- and pretends that they are free, the customer however has already unwittingly paid and dearly.

Healthy Planet actively encourage wealthy landlords to dodge their taxes through their Healthy spaces scheme;
Healthy Spaces Initiative :: Healthy Planet

£millions then go in the Healthy Planet coffers instead of the public purse and away from vital resources such as libraries...

check their accounts!! Charity overview

[WendyC]

Interesting. First link needs a subscription to work.
How has the customer paid if Healthy Planet are buying wholesale? Sorry being a bit thick here. If I went into a shop (unlikely as none near me!) and picked up 3 free books, how have I paid?

[veggiechicken]

I have no interest in following any of the links provided by Pappa Smirf. If one of Healthy Planet's aims is to reduce the amount of books that are sent to landfill that is a good enough objective for me. Even if they buy in unsaleable books at a nominal sum, does it matter when otherwise we, the ratepayer, would be paying our local authorities to dispose of them through landfill. I have donated, and received, many books and magazines to/from Healthy Planet whilst giving books in saleable condition to charity shops - who also occupy vacant retail premises at a preferential rate.
Perhaps, Pappa Smirf, you would like to tell us about your garden - since this is a Gardening Forum

[WendyC]

I have to say I agree with above. What if they buy in cheap and give away, better than just dumped. Also better than shops are occupied and drawing trade in.

[sammy_roser]

There is one of these behind where I work but every time I walk past it is closed

Need one where I live (a good 100miles apart) So I could donate my old books which are currently going mouldy in the shed.

[julesapple]

The one here has all sorts of things - free books, videos and magazines; and furniture, ironmongery and odds and sods for sale at silly cheap prices. They also have a book club, knitting & crochet, children's corner etc. My only problem is - I always find 4 books that I want and have great difficulty deciding which one to leave behind!
Hope yours relocates soon!

Carmarthen or Newport? Newport would be our nearest one.

[veggiechicken]

Carmarthen Jules

[julesapple]

Oh rats.....that's a bit far away.

[veggiechicken]

Haven't been to the one in Newport - I thought there was one in Pontypool last time I looked

[SarzWix]

There are such things as charities which are less charitable than they first appear. If someone is trying to prevent people being scammed, then I don't think they need to be shot down for doing so? I read Papa Smirf's post in the early hours of the morning, and decided to leave it be, because I thought people would rather know if something wasn't as good as it sounded...

[SarzWix]

19/01/2013 Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - FT.com
Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - FT.com 1/3
November 21, 2011 10:00 pm
Treading a fine line
between ‘scam’ and ‘service’
By Claer Barrett, Retail Correspondent
Healthy Planet, a registered environmental charity, promises landlords a “50 per cent saving
on rates costs” if they grant a temporary lease, but asks for half the shop’s true business
rates liability as a “tax deductible charity donation” in return.
“We are the next best thing to a shop being completely empty. There is no one else who
wants this space,” says Shaylesh Patel, founder of Healthy Planet. The charity is receiving
cash to occupy about 60 empty shops, which simply have posters in the windows advertising
its website, and also operates 13 Books for Free shops, where it distributes unwanted books
to local communities.
In 2009, Blacks Leisure paid Healthy Planet to occupy 77
unwanted stores in order to mitigate its rates liability. Blacks
confirmed it was making payments to Healthy Planet “towards its store occupancy and
administrative costs”. The charity still occupies 25 ex-Blacks stores and also receives similar
donations from other landlords.
“Different councils interpret us in different ways,” Mr Patel said, claiming that more than 60
local authorities accepted that putting up posters counted as occupation.
Following government “empty rates” legislation in 2008, property owners have had to pay
full business rates on boarded-up shops. In April 2011, this was extended to cover lower
value properties, including small shops on deserted high streets.
Ratings experts say this has prompted an acceleration of “rates dodging” scams involving
charities, many of which are legally questionable. The law states charity shops have to be
“wholly or mainly used for the sale of donated goods” in order to qualify for a mandatory 80
per cent rates discount.
“There are some organisations which are pushing this into the area of a scam,” said Roger
Messenger, president of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation, which governs
rating professionals in the UK.
He said “donations for rates” schemes where charities are paid to occupy shops were “very
common” in secondary and tertiary high streets where shops were “unlikely to ever be
reoccupied”, stating he had encountered “many examples” of charities simply putting up
posters, or “putting machines in units to send out messages to smartphones” instead of
19/01/2013 Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - FT.com
Treading a fine line between ‘scam’ and ‘service’ - FT.com 2/3
Slaying zombies of UK retailing
Council of the beasts
Issue raised on lowering gambling stakes
New year honours - list
actually trading.
In recent weeks Mary Portas, retail adviser to the government, has complained about rising
numbers of charity shops on the nation’s high streets. Nationally, one in seven high street
shops lies vacant, as increasingly cost-conscious consumers migrate to shopping online, at
out-of-town centres, or at large supermarket stores. The Financial Times has previously
revealed that some high street landlords are prepared to charge retailers rents of just £1 a
year in order to avoid the “empty rates” bill if they were to quit.
Charities occupying empty properties in return for a donation believe they are not breaking
the law.
Healthy Planet approached HM Revenue and Customs to discuss the tax status of its 2010
accounts before the 2010 year-end and agreed an appropriate payment with HMRC before
submitting its tax return and payment on time. These showed “donations” had jumped from
£13,000 to £1.1m in the space of 12 months as the result of income from occupying
previously empty shops. The amount of tax due was agreed before Healthy Planet’s accounts
were audited.
“In the taxman’s eyes, if we’re getting this payment in return [for occupying a shop] then it’s
not really a donation,” stated Mr Patel, who says Healthy Planet paid “several thousands of
pounds” of tax in accordance with its agreement with HMRC.
He said the charity intended to turn all its shops into Books for Free stores in time, but could
not find volunteers to run them.
“The point is, these shops may not ever be used as shops again,” said Andrew Cribb, the cofounder
of 3Space, a registered charity that receives donations for occupying empty shops,
and lets community groups use the space for free.
“Social enterprises and charities are delivering services, and attracting groups of people who
will use town centres again,” he said. “A whole heap of youth charities using these parts of
town could be a way of kick-starting rundown areas.”

This article has been amended since first publication to clarify the circumstances of
Healthy Planet’s discussions with HMRC. Mary Portas

The FT article Papa Smirf referred to.