A WARD councillor has raised questions over “shocking” cost increases at a housing association property in Poole. 

Cllr Judes Butt, ward councillor for Creekmoor, said despite Stonewater Ltd giving promises residents at Tanglewood Lodge in her ward would not be evicted, questions still remain over why the increases have been so severe.

"This situation is totally unacceptable,” she said.

“Why are other housing associations not imposing huge increases like this?”

Cllr Butt held a meeting with representatives of Stonewater on Thursday, March 23.

She received assurances residents would be able to meet one to one with representatives from the housing association, to ensure they are accessing all the grants available to them, among other promises.

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However, Cllr Butt said that these meetings should have been done before the residents received notice of the increases.

This comes after significant increases in charges were communicated to residents at Stonewater properties across the conurbation.

Councillors and local MPs Conor Burns and Sir Robert Syms have been involved in finding solutions to the dramatic increases, as some residents have seen weekly bills rise by more than £100.

Cllr Butt was contacted by residents and held a meeting with them in early March, to establish the facts around the increases. She has been in contact with Stonewater since and set up the meeting last week to discuss what assurances they could make to residents.

“Tanglewood residents, once they knew of these huge hikes in charges, immediately contacted me to intervene with Stonewater,” she said.

“My worry is, if they have not had representation, Stonewater would not have made these very late concessions to support their own residents.

Cllr Butt said Stonewater still have to explain why the increases were quite so large.

“I asked them that as they used a broker to buy the electricity, was done with the residents' best interests at heart and did they get best value for money,” she said.

“With a 590 per cent increase in communal heating charges, l certainly do not think they have.

“There is much more to resolve but at least these first steps give my residents a breathing space whist the rest of this mess is sorted out."