PLANS to introduce a fixed weekly heating payment at a sheltered housing complex has left tenants cold, with some residents’ predicting their bills will treble.

Twenty-nine of the 35 residents of Queens Court in Richmond have signed a petition against Richmondshire District Council’s decision to replace individual meters with a fixed weekly charge of £3.30, rising to £6 by 2020.

Residents say this approach penalises those who are careful, as they end up covering the cost of their less frugal neighbours. Tennant Ellie Brand pays £40 a year into her meter. Under the new system, her annual bill will be £171.60.

Keith Horn, 72, said: “Most of us are on fixed pensions and this extra expense could have an impact on our quality of life.”

A decision was made to remove meters from four of the council’s sheltered housing schemes in January, after two systems failed and the others were found to be in a poor state. The cost of replacing the meters was “excessive” and a standard charge system was deemed “more cost effective, simple to use and equitable.”

It was due to be introduced next month but, following representations from councillors Clive World and Lorraine Hodgson, the Queens Court switch has been suspended to allow the issue to be discussed at a full council meeting on July 25.

A council spokesperson said: “The proposed approach is simply to recover the cost of fuel each sheltered housing scheme uses from service users. This currently isn’t the case as the meter systems have not kept pace with inflation which means residents are paying much less than they should do. The cost of fuel used is not being fully recovered and this situation is not sustainable.”