Dorset residents who put in home extensions are being hit with extra taxation, it has emerged.
A local authority is facing criticism for charging extra tax on home extensions, the BBC reports.
Purbeck District Council in Dorset is demanding the payment from householders who choose the upgrade, working on the assumption that an extra bedroom is added in every home extension. The charge is levied despite the legislation on which it is based, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, normally being used to make developers rather than residents pay for the "bedroom tax".
Speaking to the BBC, local resident "Paul" said that he was forced to pay an extra £2,000 for his plans to add two rooms to his home. "We were a little bit shocked to find our extension would cost us an extra £2,000 on top of planning and before starting the building," he said. "They said it's £1,000 per habitable room, but we only wanted an extension to the lounge downstairs."
Justifying the extra tax, the local authority said that money raised would go towards improving the district's roads - even though the area's road network is maintained by Dorset County Council rather than Pubeck District.
Alan Davies, the development control manager at Purbeck District Council, said: "In 2002 we were told by the government that our roads were at capacity and we should not be allowing any more development. We came up with a policy that would allow us to pay for highway improvements. We are looking long-term."
