Families hit with bills of up to £70,000 by Waverley Borough Council were correctly charged – officers have said.
At least 20 people have been slapped with community infrastructure levies (CIL), with at least one saying they were threatened with court action for what they thought was a simple home extension.
Waverley Borough Council has promised to conduct a review into how and why so many have been stung with surprise planning bills and take “particular discretion” on any new homeowner applications to avoid repeats going forward.
Those who think they may have been mischarged – likely due to an oversight in applying for an exemption – can apply for case-by-case review, but officers have stressed that every bill sent has been done so correctly and in accordance with the law.
Only those who would have likely been exempt had the correct processes been followed stand any chance of having their fees waived – the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.
The issue was re-examined at the Monday, March 24 meeting of Waverley Borough Council’s audit and risk committee.
Traditionally CIL is paid by developers to support an area. Common examples would be a community building as part of a major housing estate, or cash to offset impacts.
Most new developments of over 100 square metres, or that create a new home, are potentially liable for the levy. The majority of residential annexes, extensions and self-built homes are exempt – but often these need to be applied for.
Councillors heard that not a single resident had been wrongly issued with their bills and that, by the letter of government legislation, they should stand.
“We have acted completely in accordance with all regulations that we’ve serviced. They’ve been served correctly.” the meeting heard.
“No notices have been issued to a non-cil liable development. We have acted completely in accordance with all regulations that we’ve serviced. They’ve been served correctly.”
The response was to questions over the scale, both in number and value, of letters issued demanding payment following a series of complaints.
The highest profile case was the couple Steve and Caroline Dally, who were charged £70,000 after being granted planning permission by Waverley Borough Council to demolish and replace an existing extension at their Godalming home.
It was originally considered exempt but later amendments annulled this and the huge bill soon landed on their doorstep.
They were given 60 days to pay or their home would be at risk of repossession with the possibility of imprisonment.
Officers told the meeting: “We are absolutely certain that we have operated (within the legislation) and we have not charged CIL on any development which should not have been charged – or if the situation has changed for example someone may have said to begin with this was a self build and they it came to light that it wasn’t, then we’ve acted accordingly once that citation has changed.
“What has happened, and the number of really really difficult cases that have been highlighted to members, is when people haven’t followed the CIL regulations because they are so rigid.
“In lots of cases, people’s professional agents haven’t understood and followed the steps they’ve inadvertently led themselves into this situation where they they become liable – or if a homeowner has made an amendment to their scheme and gone from under 100 sq m to over without really realising what that meant in terms of the CIL and they’ve found themselves in these really difficult situations where they’ve suddenly been presented with a liability notice correctly but for quite large sums of money that they haven’t planned for.
“We’re really clear that we haven’t acted illegally. But we are dealing with a very very difficult piece of legislation.”
Since 2019 the council has collected about £30million in CIL of which about £12.7m remains unspent.
Those looking to request a discretionary review can do so from June 1 through to May 31 2026.
The council added that it hoped to change the system as part of its local plan.