Residents protest against council planning fees

Angry homeowners gathered outside a Surrey council to protest against unexpected infrastructure costs for work done to their homes.

About 20 people have so far come forward to Waverley Borough Council with what they say are huge and unexpected community infrastructure levy (CIL) bills, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The levies are fees issued by local authorities to help them deliver the required infrastructure when new developments are built.

Homeowners said they have been shocked by the short notice to come up with, in some cases, £70,000 for work they would have expected to be exempt from, and would have been if they'd filled out a form.

Instead they say they have been pursued and threatened with court action if they do not pay.

On Tuesday, residents protested outside the council's executive meeting and challenged the authority on whether it had any "genuine intent" to review its CIL 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.

In most cases the council said it had been correct in issuing the bills - despite anger from those who felt wronged.

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.

The rest, the council said, were not as straightforward – with any long-term solutions not expected until at least May,

Councillor Liz Townsend, portfolio holder for planning, said the council was committed to carrying out a discretionary review which could be requested by homeowners previously subject to CIL liability.

Council leader Paul Follows said there were three categories of individuals in the process.

Some, such as Mr and Mrs Dally, who "may have had some fault of the council", and others who were "advised poorly… as part of their building project".

He added: "And thirdly there are individuals that disagree with the concept of homeowner CIL but have been charged legally for it at this point of time and that's subject to a different discussion of whether we should charge homeowners or not."

The council said it would be taking this final group into consideration in May when it was due to discuss potential changes to CIL.

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