Every householder stung by Waverley Borough Council’s surprise planning charges should be offered a full review with any repayments funded by the authority’s hoarded interest.

That was one of five key recommendations by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee as it examined historic issues of residents hit with large community infrastructure levies, traditionally imposed on large scale developers.

Towards the end of last year it emerged residents had been slapped with  hefty and unexpected planning fees – with reports some had to sell their homes to avoid serious court action. 

The council has since carried out a preliminary review and claimed fees had been levied correctly – later saying it would only return money in cases where it had made the error.

Honest mistakes made by either the home owners or their agents could not be considered for rebate.

The council said its hands were tied as the Community Infrastructure Levy charges are controlled by government rules – and  has written to ministers calling  on this to be changed. 

Councillor George Hesse (Farnham Residents Group, Farnham Castle) told the June 23 meeting:  “Each case is different but they all have one thing in common;  large charges, fines, and threats of court action are causing these householders a huge amount of stress and worry.

“I was disheartened to hear householders would only be eligible for a review and potential review of the charge if Waverley Borough Council had made a mistake.

“On the other hand if the householder or the agent made a mistake in the raft if forms, Waverley can’t withdraw the notice even if the documentation was handled by their agent – without the householder’s involvement or knowledge.

“The onus is still on the householder – does this seem fair to you?”

Councillor Peter Clark (Farnham Residents Group leader) said it “seemed deeply one sided” and unfair that the council could waive fees or fines for its own mistakes but not the mistakes of residents.

Committee chair Cllr Carole Cockburn,  said: “We are supposed to be the experts in this.

“If we don’t help the amateurs to deal with this paperwork, to deal with these strict regulations which we know are difficult, then I think we are failing in our duty of care.

“You can’t expect amateurs just to absorb it overnight.”

Cllr Hesse added “The executive has a golden opportunity to put this right on July 1.

“Failure to do so will cause huge damage to the reputation to this council in its last administration before it’s dissolved in a couple of years time making way for an unitary authority and it would be a tragedy for the council if CIL injustice to residents is what it is remembered for.”

The committee agreed to ask the borough’s leadership to reconsider what it defines as an error, including whether it failed to sufficiently signpost residents through the planning maze, as well as what checks and balances were in place since 2019.

It also called for a broader review process, and that any future CIL reports take the same process through the council, including cross-examination by the overview group.

The committee’s recommendations came on the day the council issued its own call on the Government to urgently reform Community Infrastructure Levy system.

In the letter,  Cllr Paul Follows, the leader of Waverley Borough Council, raised serious concerns over what he described as inflexible, complex, and unfair regulations on  homeowners.

He said the levy was meant to be a simpler, faster and more transparent way to fund local infrastructure but had become a confusing and unforgiving process where small, honest mistakes can leave residents facing life-changing financial penalties.

Under current rules, large home extensions can incur significant charges if homeowners unintentionally fail to follow the strict application processes. This has hit some in Waverley hard.

It can be as simple as missing a single step in the application process and the council says, this leaves them with no legal discretion to intervene.

Not enforcing the levy is not an option either, as it is attached to the property rather than the individual, impacting future sales.

The council says it is working within its limited powers to address the issue, including the discretionary review scheme – which the committee has said should be broadened to include all mistakes – with the money coming out of the council’s pocket.

Cllr Follows said: “If the council makes an error, we’ll do everything we can to put it right.

“But when a resident makes an honest mistake, our hands are tied. 

“That’s why we need national reform. Councils must be given the flexibility to act with fairness and common sense.”

He added: “It’s hard to justify the same bureaucracy and penalties for someone simply trying to build a granny annexe or extra bedrooms. 

“We’re asking the Government to act now on reforms promised more than a decade ago.”