Waverley’s New Discretionary CIL Review Scheme To Be Revealed Soon

Published on: 5 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 6 Jun, 2025

By Martin Giles

After months of delay, Waverley Borough Council is set to bring forward proposals to the council’s Executive on July 1 for a new discretionary review of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charges.

Homeowners believe they may have been incorrectly charged, sometimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds for residential extensions or annexes.

Cllr Liz Townsend

Cllr Liz Townsend (Lib Dem, Cranleigh West), portfolio holder for Planning and Economic Development, said: “We know that the Community Infrastructure Levy legislation has been a source of stress and concern for some of our residents who believe they have been unjustly charged and unfairly penalised by these complex and inflexible rules.

“I want to assure them that we are absolutely committed to addressing those concerns through a fair and transparent review process.

“This is a new process for the council and we have taken independent legal advice to ensure our approach is both robust and fair.

“I want to thank residents for their patience as we necessarily progress through the council’s formal committees. This work is progressing at pace, and we’re on track to deliver a process that reflects the values of fairness, transparency and accountability.”

But discontent over the length of time officers have taken to deal with this is shared by some councillors from more than one party as well as those residents affected, who have been facing huge, unaffordable charges.

Response to Sir Jeremy Hunt MP from the Minister for Housing

Back in January, Waverley Borough Council adopted a motion: “In line with West Berkshire householders previously subject to CIL Liability can request a discretionary review by the council within a window from 1st June 2025 to 31st May 2026.” But subsequently the motion was deemed invalid and unlawful.

In a response to concerns raised by local MP Sir Jeremy Hunt, Baroness Taylor, minister of Housing and Local Government, acknowledged that WBC had intended to follow West Berkshire’s example and raised no concerns. She also outlined that the Government was keeping CIL legislation “under active review”.

A meeting of key members, including political group leaders, was held yesterday (June 4) to discuss the initial options for how the discretionary review scheme might work, with a view to finalising proposals later in the month.

All discretionary review options would see cases examined by an independent person or persons, unrelated to the council, ensuring the process is impartial, transparent, and fair to each resident.

The council plans to publish details of the proposed review scheme on Wednesday, June 12, ahead of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on June 23. Formal recommendations to the Council’s Executive will be published on June 23 ahead of a decision on 1 July 1.

Cllr Jane Austin

The leader of the opposition at Waverley, Jane Austin (Con, Bramley & Wonersh), referring back to the January motion, said her Conservative group strongly believes the WBC Executive could have shown far greater urgency and leadership in driving the matter forward and deadlines have been missed.

She added: “As outlined, Waverley’s proposed process diverges from West Berks and our overriding concern is that it delivers a timely, fair, and just outcome.

“West Berkshire’s review successfully resulted in approximately £400,000 in refunds to over 18 homeowners. Their process has not been challenged or opposed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

“Given how distressing and traumatic this situation has been for those affected, we are disappointed that the Executive chose to release a press statement just 30 minutes after Wednesday’s meeting without first contacting anxious impacted residents who have not heard from their council in months – surely that should have been their priority, rather than a Council press release?

“Our group remains fully committed to representing the interests of those affected. Their wellbeing and a just resolution are our paramount concerns.”

The council says it will continue to update residents as the scheme progresses and is aiming to implement the new process later this summer.