Man to receive £70k refund in planning charge row

A man who was charged £70,000 by his local council for making "a small home improvement" is to get a refund.

Steve Dally had been granted planning permission to replace an existing house extension that was exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), but he did not realise an extra application to make minor amendments was subject to the charge.

Waverley Borough Council leaders agreed on Tuesday to launch a scheme so which would review if money could be returned - if the local authority had made an error.

After being told he would receive a refund, Mr Dally, from Godalming, said: "I'm actually quiet speechless. I think [it's] the shock after all of these years, the trauma, the stress."

A CIL is a fee meant for large-scale developers which is used to fund local improvements including new roads and facilities.

But it is estimated about 20 residents in Waverley have also found themselves having to pay tens of thousands of pounds.

"This battle isn't over," Mr Dally said.

Liberal Democrat councillor Liz Townsend, the council's portfolio holder for planning and economic development, said the authority wanted to "rectify any errors".

Councillor Townsend also said the council was exploring other measures to help residents, including looking at how it enforces CIL fines.

She added: "During my time as portfolio holder I can only say that officers have acted in a professional way and there has been certainly no entrapment."

However, councillor Jane Austin, the local Conservative leader, said the agreement of the review scheme was a "spectacular failure" to deliver results.

She said the delay in the review was "calculated and deeply unimpressive" for people who were still waiting for an answer.

The councillor added that what had been delivered was "insufficient to address the problems".

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