Mobile Home Park Residents “Fed Up Of Splashing The Cash On Water Bills” After Massive Leaks
Written by Harry Turnbull
Residents drowning in water bills at a mobile home site in North Wales are making waves with a Senedd petition urging the Welsh Government to grant them the right to individual meters.
Householders have received bills up to an eye-watering £68 month due to leakages running to millions of litres annually – but they are caught in between of a war of words between the site owner Wyldecrest and Welsh Water over the replacement of leaky pipes.
Residents’ chairman Kenneth Pierce said they had installed a number of meters at their own expense to track usage. He explained “People were getting increasingly frustrated by the size of the bills so a number had meters fitted at their own expense. We worked out bills should be around £16 a month.
“This is all due to massive leakages on site which Welsh water has been recording. Because the site has only one account holder, the owner Wyldecrest, it is up to them to put matters right.”
They also worked out that the 159 homes on site would be having to use the loo 58 times a night each to make up the massive water usage.
The committee approached local Flintshire councillor Sam Swash who has launched a petition to go forward to the Senedd.
He said “This is both a financial and environmental scandal. Residents are being forced to pay for water they aren’t using.”
Welsh Water says the matter needs to be resolved between the site owner who are responsible for piping and the residents.
But Mr Pierce says a breakthrough may also have been made with Wyldecrest Parks who have sent a maintenance manager to investigate.
He added “Action speaks louder than words so we will see what happens with any improvement works. They have been here with a contractor so it looks like something may happen. Whatever the outcome we still want individual meters so we can be sure overcharging isn’t an issue.”
About the author
Harry Turnbull is an experienced journalist based in the north who has held a variety of reporting and editing roles in the media.He also writes a reviews column for the UK’s biggest archive of BBC radio dramas.
