Friday, June 13, 2008

Bedroom Tax

You may be interested in this article in today's Telegraph.

Purbeck are the only Authority to charge £1000 per bedroom in planning applications!

I had assumed that all authorities made the same charges!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2119620/Homeowners-face-and1631%2C000-tax-on-extensions.html

Posted by wickedwitch to swanageview at 2:02 PM
Posted by at

5 comments:

The Postman said...

and in the Echo..haven't checked to see if content same

http://tinyurl.com/3hovlk
or
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/purbeck/display.var.2329363.0.council_joins_fight_over_5_000_homes.php

13/6/08 6:47 pm
Anonymous said...

All very interesting. I took the troulbe to read the departmental guidance and the infamous "section" which is involved. The former says in the clearest terms that councils are not to use this as a development levy and it is equally clear that the money has to be spent on something closely related to the development, e.g. if you build a housing estate in the back of beyond you should pay something towards the cost of a bus service. Its hard to see how a gneral levy is legitimated. Rumour has it that there is an onegoing case about this so perhaps a large hole will be blown in PDC's finaces - again.

I also read the election address of my local councillor who said she is all in favour of affordanble houses for people to buy but she is one of the loudest voices against the 5000 homes target. How she expects homes to be affordable on local incomes without a large number being built beats me. Her address was quite unequivical that it is aboout hepling peole buy their home. An interesting circle to squre.

14/6/08 12:17 pm
Anonymous said...

Jim Knight has a good idea - I fall over in shock.

http://tinyurl.com/6grpq8

21/6/08 9:02 am
Anonymous said...

http://tinyurl.com/4nubvp

Off to the High Court.

26/6/08 5:26 am
Anonymous said...

The Echo reports that someone is going to ask the High Court for a judicial review of this practice. A planning inspector has decided that refusing to pay is justification for refusing planning permission but I wonder whether his remiot was to ask whether the council had the power to make the demand in the first place. I suspect not. In a situation where there is an enormous annual shortfall in the number of homes built you would think councils would be looking for ways to pay developers so more is built rather than charge them. What a strange mentality. What they are saying is this. "Housing too dear. Leave it to us and we will make it even dearer."

26/6/08 10:36 am

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