Debts from three companies worth almost £220,000 are set to be written off by Norwich City Council.

Councillors are expected to agree to give up chasing the companies for unpaid business rates and rent owed to City Hall, including some going back to 2015. 

In total, £218,932.66 is set to be written off at a meeting on Wednesday.

The companies are Faiths Lane Serviced Apartments (FLSA), Archant Community Media Ltd and Beluga Lease Ltd. 

The largest amount of debt to be written off was for FLSA, which owed £97,701.59. This covers two periods of unpaid business rates, one between 2015 to 2017 and another covering 2017- 2018. 

FLSA was owned by Nick Sutton, who was fined for failing to fix issues at a block of flats at Faiths Lane in Norwich, which suffered problems with mould, sewage leaks and broken fire alarms.

Eastern Daily Press: Abigail Nicholson and Daniel Moxon, in the corridor by the front door of their flat in St Faith's Lane which had water pouring down wallsAbigail Nicholson and Daniel Moxon, in the corridor by the front door of their flat in St Faith's Lane which had water pouring down walls (Image: Archant)

The flats were owned under a separate, but similarly named company, called Faith Lane Apartments Ltd. 

Sutton was ordered to pay £174,000 by the Royal Courts of Justice’s Upper Tribunal in March 2020 and a further £6,100 fine for breaching housing regulations in April 2021 at Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court. 

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Archant, the previous owner of the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News, entered into a 'company voluntary arrangement' (CVA) for its £64,308.21 share of the debt.

CVAs let a company in financial difficulty organise a voluntary arrangement to repay all or part of its debts.

Eastern Daily Press: Archant, based at Prospect House, Rouen Road, NorwichArchant, based at Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich (Image: Emily Revell)

A report to the council's cabinet said the CVA was worth 5.1p per pound, with £6,244.44 paid back. 

It covered a period in the coronavirus pandemic, between July 2020 and March 2021, when newspaper sales were at their lowest.

Beluga was the previous owner of 2 Upper King Street, which is now Mr Postles' Apothecary. Beluga owed £56,922.86 in unpaid rent and debt recovery charges.