Hi A local developer has received planning approval for a project that will place a side wall less than 3m from several of the properties. It will also build over a public sewer that we have an easement for. The community believes the decision was taken without proper consultation, and ignores rules and guidelines for local planning. In addition it was possibly rushed through to meet the deadline to avoid CIL in July. Due to the council being short staffed, by the time we had an opportunity to explore options with them, the decision had been made and also the time limit has passed for us to request a judicial review. Complaining to the council for an incorrect decision via the ombudsman will only result in a slap on the wrists and fine but won't undo the wrong. The developer has put forward several arguments to support keeping the plan as is, as opposed to a simple modification that will not cost much. The residents feel cornered by a system that is loaded against the people it should be there to protect. Any suggestions welcome.

Hey I got in contact with a software developer, he agreed to write some software for me, I paid him in instalments total of £277. The software was never delivered to myself he took the money and ran. I paid him via bank transfer. I am planning a small claims court but it turns out he is 16 and from the UK. I would like to know who is responsible for the the money owed, Would it be him or his parents (I have located his address and parents names) that I sent the initial small claims forms to ?

The developer has issued a claim against me. The developer is also the manager and owner of the private road on which we live. I intend to fully dispute the claim. The date of service is today, 3rd May so I have a little time to get things together. He is claiming £265 for what he states in the POC as "charges incurred by our company on behalf of the residents of XXX which is a private road owned by our company. There are clauses in the sales contract for each property which allows us to pass on the charges and make a charge for management costs. The 10 other residents have settled their accounts in full." The charges are for a Pumping station and the Electricity that runs the pumping station. But he's charging us nearly £700 a year to "administer" these bills that come in annually. Right, so let me just say that the accounting system he uses is a mess, so I need to show that in court. He has been charging VAT at 20% on the electricity even though he only gets charged 5%. I have paid all the bills that he has incurred but I will not pay his extortionate management charge. But what I am looking for is a bit of help to really nail this once and for all. I can show the court that I have paid all charges in full EXCEPT his management charges. I am not paying any management charges because, 1) He has raised the management fee for the 11 properties from £395 to £695. Now obviously I only pay one eleventh of that, but our clause in our sales contract he talks about states that all charges should be reasonable. The reason he raised the charge by £300 was to recuperate money he lost taking another resident to court for a similar matter. He has been talking about my personal situation with other residents. Is he in breach of Data Protection Laws? He has deliberately mixed up the payments I have made and apportioned them to the wrong bills, making it look like I haven't paid one of the at all. The accounts that he has submitted in his POC are different to the ones he has given me. How do I get back the money I am going to lose in defending this? Do I just ask the Judge to award costs, or do I have to counter-claim? In short, I have paid my share of pumping station charges and electricity, but owing to the 40% rise in management charges and no justification or reasonable excuse for it, I haven't paid any management fees. I just want to pay what is fair and reasonable, I am not his personal cash cow. If anyone could help me, I'd be very grateful.