Planning appeals cost council over £750,000

The figure was revealed as part of a report discussed by Wealden District Council on Monday

A council has paid out more than £750,000 in three years over planning appeal costs.

The figure was revealed as part of a report discussed by Wealden District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Monday.

The East Sussex authority paid out £756,262 in appeal costs between January 2021 and April 2024.

This figure resulted from nine appeal decisions, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The single largest payout, £330,000, resulted from the council’s decision to refuse the 700-home Mornings Mill development on the outskirts of Eastbourne.

This decision was overturned at appeal in September 2022.

The report said there were a total of 337 appeals lodged with the council during this period, with 261 resolved through written representations.

The report said the costs in these cases are difficult to verify, as they simply involved officer time to process.

However, the report goes on to identify how £466,200 was spent on preparing defences in 13 of these appeals, including the nine which resulted in costs being paid to developers.

This includes the costs of legal advice, venue hire, consultants and officer time, the report said.

Part of this figure was spent on successful appeal defences.

When combined with the cost awards, the report put the final and full budget impact from these appeals at £1,222,462.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.