Rutland veteran 'angry' after affordable living price hike

An Army veteran who lives in affordable housing says cost increases have left him "upset and angry".

Andy Smith has lived with his wife in a one-bed flat in Gainsborough Court, Cottesmore, for about two years.

An increase in rent and a service charge to maintain communal areas means they are paying nearly £200 more a month.

Longhurst Group, which runs the flats, said their "priority" was to support their customers.

Mr Smith, who was in the Coldstream Guards during the Falklands War, said the rises were causing residents "anxiety".

"It's 24/7 - you don't sleep," he said. "It's on your mind all the time.

"This will impact me with my eating habits, not being able to support my daughter and grandchildren because my car will have to come off the road.

"So it's going to have a massive impact on me and all the family."

His neighbour, Adele Gray, called for Longhurst to provide more support to residents.

Addressing the housing company, she said: "You're supposed to be there for the vulnerable people with affordable housing and you've just made this home unaffordable.

"Nobody can afford £800, £900 a month for a one-bedroom flat."

A spokesperson for Longhurst said they wanted to continue to "provide the best possible service".

"We understand that any increase isn't welcome news, particularly given the other cost-of-living challenges our customers are facing," they said.

"Following a recent review of the service charge for Gainsborough Court, we uncovered an issue linked to an incorrect energy meter, which has since been rectified and the residents' charges have been amended accordingly.

"This hasn't been an issue in previous years because we subsidised costs at the scheme to keep service charges down. However, due to rising costs across our operations, we've taken the difficult decision to recover the actual amount that we're charged by providers."

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