PLANS to more than double heating bills on a social housing estate by 104 per cent have been delayed.

As part of Redbridge Council’s housing budget proposals for the next financial year (2017/18), a number of changes are due to be made to the cost of rent, garages, parking spaces, and utility bills for tenants.

For people living on the Orchard Estate, off Broadmead Road in Woodford Green, heating bills were due to increase from £3.21 a week to £6.56 a week – the equivalent of a 104 per cent increase.

But after cabinet member for housing Cllr Farah Hussain met with Roding ward councillors Lloyd Duddridge (Lab) and Gwyneth Deakins (Lib Dem) on Monday, (February 6), the plans have been diluted to try to “make people’s lives easier”.

Cllr Hussain said: “The main reason for the original proposals were that Orchard Estate residents are now being charged the cost of maintaining the heating and fault-monitoring alarm systems, as well as the servicing of the new Ecopod communal boilers.

“Having met with council officers and ward councillors, we have made some changes. And it’s fair to say we have all learned lessons from this process.”

Orchard Estate tenants will now only see their heating bills go up to £5.13 between April 1 and October 1, to allow them to readjust before the full hike to £6.56 a week comes in on October 2.

At the council’s cabinet meeting at the Town Hall on Tuesday, Cllr Duddridge congratulated said: “I think today’s result is real evidence that ward councillors do matter.

“These changes will make people’s lives much easier.

“The Orchard Estate isn’t home to our richest residents of the borough, but they are still very proud residents.

“They want to pay their fair share, but we have taken the opportunity not to blind them with increased costs they don’t see coming.

“Now tenants will be able to get their lives in order before they have to start paying more.”

However, Cllr Deakins said: “Despite the changes, I think these proposals are still very grudging.

“The problem here is that housing officers have seen this as a cost-saving exercise and haven’t seen it from residents’ point of view.

“This is still going to mean considerable increased living costs for them.”

Other proposals for Redbridge’s housing budget include decreasing social housing rent by one per cent for the next three years, and making sure affordable rents do not exceed 80 per cent of the gross market rate.

Garage rent will also increase by two per cent, meaning a 31p a week increase for residents in Redbridge’s Zone A and 21p a week for Zone B.