In response to planned service charge increases proposed from April this year, Curo residents living in Fosseway Cottages, Radstock, have decided to take the matter into their own hands and form a Residents’ Association, encouraging others in similar situations to consider doing the same.

In a special meeting held last week and after considerable research and advice, many letters back and forth and the assistance of MP, Jacob Rees- Mogg, the group of residents met to formally set up a constitution, with a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

Historically, one resident of the row of Miners’ cottages has maintained the garden space at the rear of the properties, which was then reportedly sub-let to the then Norton Radstock College for students to work on. As a result, Curo put in a water supply and erected new fencing and gates. When the college agreement ended, this was then given back to the residents, with the original resident working to create an allotment space to grow produce for the row of houses.

As part of the service charges, which has seen Curo taking stock of all of the

maintenance its contractors carry out in communal areas, residents say this particular row of cottages would, as a result, see an increase of around £177 per person in the first year, with the potential cost rising to £240, a worrying prospect for some of those who are unable to work, are vulnerable through health issues, or trying to get by on their pension. This would cover grass cutting, tree care and water bills.

The residents have since switched off the water supply that they would be charged for, and which they say they did not want, claiming that the proposed charges are unfair, as they do not apply to everyone living there, with private householders also owning property in the same location not having to pay a penny for the shared space.

Deciding to act and to avoid the service charges, particularly to the front of the properties, members of the new Association are looking to purchase a heavy duty lawnmower that will help maintain the front area of land that looks out on Radstock Road and the beginning of Somervale Road.

Resident and Chair of the Fosseway Residents’ Association, Gerry Rowell, said: “We are hoping that Curo will now accept our decision to maintain the grass outside of our properties ourselves, and I would encourage other residents in the area faced with the same prospect to do likewise. It took a lot of effort, but Curo have met with us to give us advice.

“This way, we act as one voice, as opposed to twelve separate people dealing with lots of different officers. You won’t get anything in this world unless you sit up and do something.

“We hope to run social activities for funds and will be looking to access grants. Other items on the agenda are combatting dog fouling and potentially installing some kind of CCTV.”

Darren Hackett, Curo Head of Estate Management told The Journal this week: “We’re always happy to talk to customers about ways they can take on services like gardening, grass-cutting or cleaning of shared areas. There is plenty of support available to get started, and we may even be able to provide a grant if customers need to buy equipment to do the work.

“In return for carrying out a service themselves, customers save money on their own service charge – whatever it cost Curo to carry out the service.”