Property owner slams council's 'bully boy tactics' after £10,000 bill 'sent to wrong address'
A property owner has slammed the 'bully boy tactics' of a council that sent him a £10,000 bill to the wrong address and then added thousands of pounds when he failed to pay up.
Simon Wray, who owns 9 High Street in Whitchurch, bought the fire-hit shell of a then Chinese restaurant and developed it, turning the ground floor into commercial premises with flats above.
Mr Wray said following the completion of the project to return the listed Georgian building to quality, he moved from Belle Vue, in Shrewsbury, to London in 2018. It is now occupied by a florists' shop, with flats above.
"The council sent the letter claiming £10,000 in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) in March 2019 but I did not see it until October 2019," said Mr Wray. "They then said I had 28 days to appeal, but I did not know about it until well after that."
Mr Wray was taken to court over the issue but was told that he had no choice but to pay the £10,000 CIL charge, which he did - about three weeks ago.
