Tenants have to 'choose between eating or heating'

Tower block residents have claimed they are having to go without food because their heating bills have skyrocketed.

Many council flats in Solihull are heated and get their hot water through biomass energy, which some experts believe is better for the environment than traditional forms, like gas.

But a petition has been launched urging the local authority to step in after some tenants were told to pay hundreds of pounds more to warm their homes.

Council bosses said prices had been affected by the war in Ukraine, as the system relied on burning wood pellets that had been sourced from Russia.

The pellets are burned in a biomass boiler at a main plant room in Fordbridge to produce the heating and hot water in each flat.

Joshua Kearns, 34, who lives in Pembroke House in Smith's Wood, said his neighbours had been complaining about their heating bills for months.

Urging the local authority to do more, he claimed having a bath was costing him as much as £3, and his bills had gone up by hundreds in total.

"You've got multiple people with children," he said. "It's not acceptable."

Mr Kearns explained he tried not to have the heating on unless his disabled son was visiting.

"I know people who wrap up with their dog," he added. "If they didn't, they would probably freeze to death."

Lois Dehan, 53, said her "worried and stressed" parents, Pamela and Frank, who live in Warwick Court in Chelmsley Wood, were particularly impacted as they were elderly and disabled.

"To have the heating on as they actually need it, they would be financially struggling," Ms Dehan said.

"[My mother] lives in fear of what can happen to herself and to my father without the true amount of heating they need."

Biomass uses waste from plants or animals that can be converted to energy.

Some 23 out of 37 high-rise blocks in Solihull use this form of energy.

Chelmsley Wood councillor Shesh Sheshabhatter said: "Some [people] are having to choose between heating and eating, which is simply not acceptable.

"This isn't just a few complaints; a lot of residents have come forward."

Solihull Council told the BBC prices had shot up almost threefold due to the war in Ukraine.

They added supply was now coming from countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania rather than Russia, which meant it was more expensive.

"We take the welfare of our customers very seriously, and we are working hard to address their concerns," a spokesperson said.

"We have commissioned a number of energy assessments across several flats in different blocks.

"We have been keeping both affected customers and local councillors up to date and will continue to do so."

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