Readers’ forum: Does new cricket pavilion create a VAT problem?

I act as treasurer for my local cricket club which is constructing a new clubhouse on some land given to the club on a 999-year lease by a local farmer which is adjacent to our pitch.

We will be using a variety of local builders and merchants for the building project some of the builders are not VAT-registered because they are sole traders trading below the £85 000 sales threshold and we are also buying materials from eBay which are VAT free in some cases. The building will not qualify as a charitable building.

The project cost is £150 000 and a colleague says that we need to register for VAT because we have made a supply to ourselves that exceeds £100 000. This would not be very helpful because we have other sources of income that would be captured by VAT ie bar sales. Is...