Council to review homeowners' planning fees

Homeowners in South West Surrey who believe they have been wrongly charged for work to their houses will be able to appeal under a new scheme.

Waverley Borough Council says homeowners who believe they have wrongly received community infrastructure levy (CIL) bills for work including home extensions and annexes will be able to ask to have their charges reviewed.

The new review system comes after residents protested in April, saying they had incorrectly received bills up to £70,000.

Plans for the review scheme went before the council on Wednesday, 4 June ahead of a decision on 1 July, with more information set be released on 12 June.

Liz Townsend, Waverley portfolio holder for planning and economic development, said: "We know that the Community Infrastructure Levy legislation has been a source of stress and concern for some of our residents who believe they have been unjustly charged and unfairly penalised by these complex and inflexible rules.

"This is a new process for the council, and we have taken independent legal advice to ensure our approach is both robust and fair.

"I want to assure them that we are absolutely committed to addressing those concerns through a fair and transparent review process."

CIL is typically charged to developers as a contribution towards essential infrastructure. However a number of homeowners across Waverley have also faced the charge.

Under the new scheme, cases would be reviewed by someone independent from the council.

Waverley council previously said that, in most cases, it had been correct in issuing the bills despite anger from homeowners.

The exception, it said, was the case of Steve and Caroline Dally who were billed £70,000 for a home extension and given no opportunity to argue their case.

Plans will go before the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 June.

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