A PROPERTY developer has slammed Redbridge Council for turning down his planning application after charging him £2,000 for advice on how to get it passed.

Lee Jose, of LJ Construction, entered into negotiations with planning officers over his proposals to build 14 flats on the site of Bedford House, in Bedford Road, South Woodford.

Mr Jose claims he spent more than £30,000 drawing up SEVEN different sets of plans for the site over 14 months based on advice he received from the council before eventually being told that his application had been refused.

He told the Guardian: “The council have been deceitful. We have not got this advice for free but have paid thousands of pounds for nothing.

“I'd have been better off just putting in the original application, had it turned down and then approved on appeal as it would have gone through by now.”

“I've been told that the plans would have been accepted in any other borough. It's totally political and to win votes as some unpopular proposals have been accepted recently.”

Mr Jose went on to accuse the plans' opponents of being “hypocrites”.

He added: “I had an open evening down there and provided wine and cheese and only four people turned up. One of the ladies over the road was interested in buying one of the flats.

“Everybody is up in arms about the street scene but why is everybody knocking down their front gardens and building extensions?

“And when you look around the back [of Bedford House] it has got a flat roof and is rendered so has no resemblance to a Victorian house at all.”

Mr Jose now intends to take Redbridge Council to the Ombudsman.

Neighbour Sue Brown helped organise the campaign against the flats.

The mum-of-three said: “It's disgusting that [the council] took money off them.

“If he thinks we're hypocrites then that's his opinion. But we were objecting to a a family home being replaced with flats we didn't need.

“And his attempts to meet us was only to pay lip-service to consulting so he could put on his application that he spoke to residents.”

A council spokesman said: "Redbridge Council provides an optional service to potential applicants that allows them to meet officers from the council so that we can try to help them shape their planning application to meet all the necessary requirements.

"The applicant in this case chose to use this service and was charged accordingly.

However, despite numerous meetings the applicant failed to take our advice fully on board and after little progress the application was submitted without all of our suggested changes being made.

The applicant was never told that the application met the requirements of the council.

After the application was submitted officers met with the applicant and reviewed the site.

We informed them that the application was still not acceptable and invited them to amend the application without success. The application was then refused.