There has been yet another political fracas at ‘Your Waverley.’
Did 2025 signal a new year resolution of the depleted Tory Group to work with the Rainbow Coalition in a spirit of cooperation for residents’ sakes?
Not on your Nelly.
With the Government’s devolution plans hanging like a dark cloud over every cash-strapped council in the country, isn’t it time our elected representatives worked together? Don’t we deserve better?
Obviously not.
This time, Tory Councillor Lauren Atkins (herself a developer) highlighted acrimony and accusations of an “unfair” Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) imposed on a householder, and rightly so.
A levy imposed by? Yes, you guessed folks. The previous Tory administration.
The new administration is currently reviewing a CIL charging structure in the new Local Plan.
Godalming couple, Mr and Mrs Dally, were granted planning consent to demolish and replace an existing home extension exempt from CIL. However, after seeking permission to make some minor amendments, which they had already carried out (and for which consent was granted), they suddenly and unexpectedly faced a £70,000 CIL charge.,
Unlike in criminal cases, CIL’s paperwork and administrative processes mean that people could accidentally face charges between £40,000 and £235,000 and have no right to reconsider their cases.
They pursue you relentlessly to get the money out of you,” said Steve Dally, “There’s no compassion, there’s no understanding.” He explained the council told him he had 60 days to pay the £70k or his home in Godalming was at risk of being re-possessed and he would go to prison. He feared the worst because this was the start of the Covid lockdown in 2020.
The 65-year-old has been forced to increase his mortgage by £400 per month, pending full repayment when he turns 70. He may have no choice but to sell the home he has worked his entire life for to settle this debt.
“It’s traumatic,” Mr Dally said. “You lose sleep and end up crying your eyes out- what can you do about it?”
Since 2020, Mr Dally has been fighting the council. He has approached councillors, the local MP, and the ombudsman to change the CIL charge levied against him and his wife. However, none of them has been able to remove the fee.
Last week, Waverley Borough Council agreed to ensure the public has the right to appeal the CIL charges. A move Mr Dally described it as a “watershed” moment as the “first time that someone was prepared to stand up and fight for you”.
Speaking out for the victims, Cllr Lauren Atkins said the “Life-changing unintentional impacts of CIL have resulted in debt, depression and years of feeling unheard and being unanswered.”
The Waverley Liberal Democrats are calling out the Conservatives for their blatant hypocrisy and lack of foresight over (CIL) charges. They claim that the issue highlights a pattern of poor policy-making and political posturing that leaves residents paying the price for Conservative mismanagement.
The Waverley Web recalls that in October 2018, the Conservative-led Council chose not to offer discretionary CIL relief. At the time, the Lib Dem representative, Cllr Paul Follows, voiced concerns about the policy’s rigidity and potential to burden homeowners and small-scale developers unfairly.
The then-new boy on the block, as Tory councillors referred to him, ignored those warnings, so they forged ahead with the policy by majority vote.
The administration’s Tory CIL policy included provisions that imposed charges even on homeowners’ extensions. Despite clear inequity, the Conservatives implemented CIL in March 2019. WW believes it was the second highest in the country.
Said a Liberal Democrat spokesperson~:
Fast-forward to today, and we see senior Conservatives, including Jeremy Hunt, criticising their party’s decisions. Mr Hunt recently expressed concerns over “CIL injustice,” conveniently neglecting to mention that his local party adopted it without addressing its shortcomings. This political U-turn is nothing short of a desperate attempt to distance themselves from their failures.
Conservatives Must Own Their Failures
The Waverley Liberal Democrats are calling on the Conservatives to stop avoiding responsibility for their own decisions. If Jeremy Hunt and his party are truly serious about addressing “CIL injustice,” they must acknowledge their role in creating the problem and work with us to implement real solutions. Empty criticism and political U-turns will not suffice.
Residents deserve better than this cynical blame game. The Liberal Democrats remain committed to fighting for fair and equitable policies that put people first.
CIL: A Missed Opportunity for Fairness
CIL was designed to ensure that developers contribute to the infrastructure needs of the communities they build in. Yet, under the Conservatives, the policy has been implemented to penalise ordinary residents while failing to deliver its full potential. By choosing not to offer discretionary relief, the Conservatives showed a lack of empathy for homeowners seeking to make modest improvements to their properties. The preliminary report’s inclusion of homeowners’ extensions as chargeable developments should have been a red flag, but it was ignored.
The Lib Dem Vision for a Fairer Approach
The Waverley Liberal Democrats have always championed policies that balance the need for infrastructure funding with fairness for residents. Unlike the Conservatives, we believe in:
- Discretionary CIL Relief: This program offers relief for homeowners and small-scale developers to prevent unfair charges for modest extensions and improvements.
- Transparency and Accountability: Ensuring that CIL funds are used effectively to deliver the infrastructure improvements communities need. All funds collected are available to the public here.
- Engaging with Residents: Listening to concerns and adapting policies to reflect the realities faced by those impacted.
If the Conservatives had adopted a more considered approach in 2018, we could have avoided the current outcry over CIL injustice. Instead, their short-sightedness has created unnecessary financial burdens and mistrust among residents.
Conservatives Must Own Their Failures
The Waverley Liberal Democrats are calling on the Conservatives to stop dodging responsibility for their own decisions. If Jeremy Hunt and his party are truly serious about addressing “CIL injustice,” they must acknowledge their role in creating the problem and work with us to implement real solutions. Empty criticism and political U-turns will not suffice.
Residents deserve better than this cynical blame game. The Liberal Democrats remain committed to fighting for fair and equitable policies that put people first.
When will the Rainbow Alliance accept responsibility for their actions or non actions, for goodness sake stop looking back as things have moved on but not the thoughts or decision making. Please treat your residents with respect and deliver value for money services.
Well said!
I wholeheartedly agree at the unfairness of one error leading to this liability with no recourse to appeal, but it seems this is how the system operates nationally and it looks like a direct consequence of how the legislation was drafted back in 2014.
The forms on the main planning portal which apply exactly this method, latest version dates from 2022 (under the Conservative government), are still being used by all the 10 or so planning authorities I’ve selected at random to test this out. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/1app/forms/form_9_extension_exemption_claim.pdf
I’m just baffled as to why it has only just come to public attention because I can’t believe these unfortunate local people are the first to have run into this problem.
Many thanks for this highly informative comment. Which we will use when we have the space.
If you want to set the record straight then publish this – it was the Gordon Brown Labour Governement of 2010 that introduced CIL ! Not the Conservatives – the Lib Dem’s have been in Adminsitration since 2019 – have they corrected the second highest CIL rate in the Country?
The Lib Dem’s/ The Conservatives/ The Waverley CEO, have all been in receipt of a document by a leading Kings Council which states that CIL gives Waverley all the powers they require to repay CIl for “ whatever reasons they see appropriate “ so why have they not done so ?
West Berks, also a LibDem Administration have corrected this injustice.
In Jan 25, a Waverley cross party motion was adopted
“ in line with West Berkshire ….. “
homeowners would be granted the right for their cases to be reviewed “
So why has Waverley not already implemented the West Berkshire policies ?
Have some compassion for the distress this Levy has had on ordinary people and kill the political crap!
– one couple were forced to sell their home because they could not afford to pay their charge
– one couples home is currently for sale because they don’t have the moneys to repay life changing fines
– one man who has terminal cancer was pursued whilst in hospital recovering from a major heart attack – his wife has dementia
Blame the Conservatives why don’t you!
Blame Gordon Brown!
– this Lib Dem Adminstration has had 6 years and all the power they require to fix this – why don’t they just do it? – now ! as did West Berks?