TAXPAYERS face a £650,000 bill after the charity regulator lost an attempt to stop two firms linked to the Unesco-listed New Lanark site to be registered as a charity. The court decision ended a four-year legal battle by the New Lanark Trust, the body responsible for the former 18th century village built around a cotton spinning mill, to establish that the sole purpose of its trading subsidiaries is to support its charitable aims. The trust is now going to fight to reclaim £650,000 in non-domestic rates due to its charity status, and seek confirmation that mandatory and discretionary rates relief will apply in the future.