‘They’re drivinG us ouT’
RESIDENTS IN ‘EYESORE’ bLOCK OF FLATS SLAM RENT RISE – DUE ON CHRISTMAS EvE
RESIDENTS living in a tower labelled ‘the biggest eyesore in Salford’ are being hit by a 20 per cent increase in rent - on Christmas Eve.
Tenants of 120 apartments in the 24-storey Briar Hill Court in Pendleton will see their monthly rent rise from £545 to £650.
Struggling neighbours branded the move ‘scandalous’ while a dad-of-three told how he now faces an agonising choice of whether to ‘eat or heat.’
Pendleton and Charlestown ward councillor John Warmisham accused the block owners of ‘under investment’ and described it as ‘the biggest eyesore in Salford’ in a September meeting. Residents claim the lifts frequently break down and take days to be repaired, and outdated water heating systems cost £100 a week to run.
Now, they face a battle to afford the rent rise coming into force on December 24.
Briar Hill Court tenant Benjamin Simpson, 37, told the M.E.N: “It’s city centre prices. I think they’re trying to gentrify the area and drive people out.
“It’s a prime location and if you look at what they’re planning on the bingo hall you can see the way it’s going. It’s nice people here. It’s a really good community. But a lot of people in here are on the breadline. I don’t know where they’ll find another £100 a month.
The dad-of-three added: “A friend said to me the other day it’s ‘heat or eat,’ and that’s exactly it. I have three kids, so it’ll have a big impact on me, but at the end of the day what are you going to do? It’s hard to find somewhere else and put the deposit down.”
Martin Dwyer, 56, has lived in the flats where big red letters point the way to ‘Salford Shopping City for five-and-a-half years. He said: “A lot of people here are on benefits, but it doesn’t cover the full amount, so they have to put money towards it.
“It’s a lot of money, especially the way things are these days. It’s just not on, it’s scandalous really.”
Many of the residents living in the block ran by Bury-based Sterling Property Management are elderly and disabled, but others are professionals, including a neurosurgeon who recently left to go back to his Syria homeland.
A resident said: “Sterling has stated that this [the rent rise] is so the rent is in line with other properties in the area. However, the difference between our and the other flats is vast. Other single-bedroom flats in the area boast mod-cons. The flats in Briar Hill Court are massively in need of both modernising and repair.
“Many residents can’t afford to have constant access to hot water because it is too expensive to run the boiler (my bill was coming in at around £100 a week). People can’t put the heating on because it is expensive and inefficient.
“The lifts are about 40 years old, and constantly break down. The company is always reluctant to fix the problems and will not replace them.”
Coun Warmisham has been contacted by several residents of Briar Hill Court and he described the conditions residents are living in as ‘unacceptable.’
He said he would be asking the Salford council landlord licensing team to look into the issues raised by the residents.
Sterling Property Management have declined to comment.