A controversial heating scheme will be rolled out further across the north – despite a wave of complaints about its cost.
Scores of council tenants have rejected Highland Council’s flagship scheme amid fears they will be hit with higher bills, prompting calls for bosses to take a “step back” and reexamine it.
But now the cash-strapped council has awarded a £648,000 gas heating contract to roll it out further.
Gas heating will now be installed in 120 homes in various parts of Inverness – in Merkinch, Anderson Street, Diriebught and Inshes.
Work on the new gas heating scheme will be carried out by Inverness-based Korrie Mechanical and Plumbing Ltd.
A total of 2,864 homes across the north are due to be fitted with new heating systems, from biomass to solid fuel replacement heaters, under the scheme which began in 2012.
Last week, councillors criticised the programme after receiving a flood of complaints from council tenants about the cost and effectiveness of their new heating.
Many tenants have already rejected the new heating systems amid fears they will have to pay higher bills, while others have complained about missing out on certain schemes.
One user claimed he had to switch off his heating at 7pm every evening to ensure he could afford the bills. Another rejected a new system completely.
Inverness Central councillor Bet McAllister said: “I do have concerns about the contract going ahead, especially as it’s in my ward and if it’s going to be costly and people won’t be able to afford it.
“Maybe they need to look before they go ahead with it, as if people are not going to be able to use heating then what’s the point? People need to have affordable heating in their homes.
“If they are already having complaints then they have to take a step back. They need to have a real look and if people are complaining, what is it that they are complaining about?”
However, East Sutherland and Edderton councillor Graham Phillips – who has received several complaints about the management of the systems – cautiously welcomed the move yesterday.
He said: “I would say it’s a perfectly practical proposal to run a contract of that size, provided there is a systematic programme of management which is competent and of an order of magnitude better than what was experienced on previous contracts.
“We need tenants to be much better briefed on what’s coming and be reassured that any system is properly designed before it’s installed and we need to make sure a system is started and signed off by the council before the contractor leaves, and that there is active tenant support for any problems that arise.”
A report circulated to councillors last week said that while overall satisfaction levels were high, some tenants were “unhappy about not receiving the heating they would have preferred.”
The council also received “complaints over the quality of the work and the effectiveness of heating installed,” and that tenants were “finding that the heating system is more expensive to run than they had anticipated.”
The report also said that “significant number of properties” had to be added to the programme because of previous failures.
It added that a “number of challenges” have resulted from the scale of the energy efficiency programme and that “a number of tenants had “not had a positive experience.”
Landward Caithness councillor Gillian Coghill said although the new gas scheme may be suitable for places like Merkinch, her constituents are paying more as they are not receiving the right schemes for them.
She added: “We have to make sure we are not going to put people deeper into debt and fuel poverty.
“They really need to look at it properly and see if a home is possibly under insulated, is the heating system one you can’t afford and will it work, and trial it before just rolling it out. People need to have more options.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Mary Scanlon said: “In these times of very serious financial constraint I think it’s right that tenants expect the council to install effective hearing systems they can afford while bearing in mind the environmental challenges.”
Highland Council was unavailable to comment yesterday, but previously have said they would be working to address the concerns of residents, and that they would be discussing the affordability of fuel and ease of use with those affected.