Dominic Cummings and his family ARE liable to pay council tax on a further two properties at their North-East farm, but charges will NOT be backdated to when they were built. It means that years of unpaid taxes, potentially between £30,000 and £50,000, on two homes built in breach of planning laws will be written off. Instead, new charges for the properties on the outskirts of Durham will come into effect from the start of this month following an investigation by the Valuation Agency Office.

Durham County Councillor John Shuttleworth said: “They should have informed them (the authorities) and it should have been checked. If it was anybody else, they would be getting charged and it would be backdated, or they would be getting taken to court. It just proves there is two sets of rules, one for them and another for everyone else. It is not right. We have to abide by the law and it we don’t you get put in prison or you get fined. They are just above it.”

A planning investigation in June, launched after complaints from members of the public, revealed the lockdown cottage at North Lodge on the A167 Darlington Road was in breach of legislation. Durham County Council said there had been historic breaches of planning building control regulations, but no enforcement action could be taken due to the amount of time that had passed.

It is understood the council tax will now have to be paid on Dominic Cummings’ band A cottage, and his sister’s band C family home.

Well that just makes me sick, he shouldn't get away with it...but that's those different sets of rules again...

Well that just makes me sick, he shouldn't get away with it...but that's those different sets of rules again...

If it was up to me, as a council officer, I would fine him, send in the bailiffs and then see him banged up in a prison full of hairy-assed knuckle-draggers .....

A COUNTY Durham MP has hit out at the Prime Minister’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings after council tax worth up to £50,000 for two properties built without planning permission was written off. Labour MP for Easington Grahame Morris said he has been contacted by several constituents angry at what he describes as ‘special treatment’ for the Prime Minister’s right-hand man. Mr Morris has also raised concerns with the Valuation Office Agency. He said:

The Cummings family has refused to comment on the issue when approached by the Northern Echo. and two Conservative County Durham MPs, Richard Holden, and Dehenna Davison, have not responded.

Durham City MP Mary Foy has said she was ‘surprised’ that council tax on Dominic Cummings’ properties built in breach of planning law would not be backdated.

Ms Foy said:

“Not only has it been established that Dominic Cummings and his family were responsible for historic planning breaches on their property at North Lodge, but also that they were liable for unpaid council tax on the properties in question over a number of years. These breaches appear to stretch back to 2002, and estimates put the arrears at somewhere between £30,000 and £50,000. Despite that, the Cummings family will only have to pay Council Tax on the additional properties from October 4 this year. While I understand that it is not possible to pursue the planning regulation breaches, because of the time elapsed, I am surprised that the council tax has not been backdated, be that to the point when the matter first came to light in May of this year or (as many believe it should be) back to 2002. I'm sure many of my constituents will be thinking that, once again with regard to Mr Cummings, there seems to be one rule if you're a chief advisor to the Prime Minister and another rule for the rest of us.”

It seems that, locally, this is a major issue:

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...-thinking-law/





Of course, complaints about Cummings will get nowhere since he's BJ's BBF .....

It’s not about jealousy but about fairness the council tax goes on, among other things , bin collections so why should he not pay his fair share or maybe he should empty his own bins