ALMOST £20,000 in water charges has been wrongly attributed to one of Whitby’s public toilets, local councillors have claimed.
An invoice for £19,562 will be sent to North Yorkshire Council after a specialist audit concluded that water charges linked to the Market Place public toilets in Whitby may have been wrongly billed to the town council
The claim emerged during a detailed review of historic water bills and meter readings, which town councillors were told had identified thousands of pounds in charges that should not have fallen to Whitby Town Council.
A report presented to a recent meeting of Whitby Town Council’s finance committee stated that a specialist water audit consultant had calculated that an estimated £19,562 in water charges had been incorrectly attributed to the town council’s supply.
Pannett Art Gallery. Courtesy Whitby Town Council.
The findings and supporting calculations have now been passed to North Yorkshire Council, and councillors voted to pursue repayment of the full amount.
However, it remains unclear whether North Yorkshire Council accepts the claim.
Responding to the town council’s decision, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for resources, Anton Hodge, said discussions were continuing.
He said: “We are working with Whitby Town Council and other parties involved to look into an issue relating to water bills at Whitby Market Place.
“As enquiries are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
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The dispute comes as the town council continues to examine historic finances and utility costs following a series of reviews into its governance and financial management.
Councillors were told that tighter monitoring of water use, improved billing arrangements and the recovery of previously unrecharged costs had already helped improve the authority’s financial position.
The meeting also heard that new sub-meters had been installed at council-owned sites to improve monitoring and help prevent future billing disputes.