Plans by Labour-controlled Westminster City Council to charge leaseholders living in Churchill Gardens, Abbots Manor, Lillington, Longmoore, and Russell House up to £66,000 per flat have sparked huge concern. We spoke to Pimlico Conservative Councillor Ed Pitt Ford and Kevin Hollinrake MP to hear more.
Cllr Ed Pitt Ford: So I'm here with Kevin Hollinrake MP who's Shadow Secretary of State for Housing. I'm really happy that you could come and help us with our campaign.
Kevin Hollinrake MP: Pleasure. It's great to be here. And obviously you're a Councillor for Pimlico North, and you're very concerned for some of your residents, this new heat network, Incredibly, you're telling me it's going to cost them £66,000 each in terms of this renewal of the scheme? Tell me more about it.
Cllr Ed Pitt Ford: Yes, so what the council are proposing at the moment could cost up to £66,000 per flat, and that's something leaseholders would be expected to pay for. And if they can't afford it, the council would force them into debt to pay for it.
Kevin Hollinrake MP: My, gosh. And you were saying, after it's done, it's going to be more expensive to heat your home after this is done as well. Where's the benefit?
Cllr Ed Pitt Ford: Yes I ask the consultants, you know, show me the model and we'll do an mpv. We'll show that it costs less to run and therefore it's worth the upfront investment. And they said, oh, we can't do that because it costs more afterwards. So they're asking people to fork out £66k for a system that will cost more to run in the long term. It makes no sense. And so what we're campaigning for is to release people from District Heating and install individual electric solutions.
Kevin Hollinrake MP: Well, great campaign. Keep at it. I support you 100%. And the main thing is, if you vote Labour, you're going to pay more on your bills, vote Conservative, and we will try to keep those bills down.
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