FURIOUS Dartmouth Museum bosses have been left reeling after being hit by a double council whammy which has seen them forced to axe ambitious expansion plans and left them facing a 20 per cent rent hike.

At the beginning of this month, the town council, which owns the museum's Butterwalk premises, finally refused to allow it to expand into a residential flat above despite claims that a 'handshake' deal had been done with leading councillors months before.

Hot on the heels of that blow, the museum trustees have been told they will now have to VAT on their rent – which will add an extra £836 onto the £4,100 a year bill.

Trustee chairman Cdr David Lingard said that trustees were 'angry' over both decisions as he asked: 'This is a small town, is this really the way they want to treat people?'

But council finance committee chairman Francis Hawke said the museum already benefited from subsidised rent and added: 'We have to think of the community at large.'

The rent increase is a direct result of the council's decision to 'opt to VAT' for the commercial properties in the Butterwalk. That means the town council adds a 20 per cent VAT charge on its rents but can claim back the VAT for future work on the centuries-old property.

The council plans to spend more than £100,000 on doing up the landmark building over the next 12 months which means it could save itself – and taxpayers – around £20,000.