Dudley council nearly double the cost of renting a garage for a Stourbridge couple.

Express & Star

A couple who rent two garages off Dudley council as they have no driveway of there own, have been shocked at the near 90% increase of renting there garage from now on.

Transcript

00:00We're here in Wooliscoat Starbridge, and hello folks, introduce yourselves.

00:03I'm Christine Taylor. And I'm Mike Taylor.

00:07So, where you live is an interesting little street.

00:12The way it's designed, you don't have a driveway, do you?

00:16No, no.

00:17So, to combat that, the council have given a few garages that you can rent out.

00:22And, you know, you've got a couple of cars, so two of the garages behind you, you've rented out, yeah?

00:26Yes, yes, yes.

00:27How long have you rented them out for, roughly?

00:29Almost, probably 40 years, maybe a little bit longer.

00:34And I guess not having a driveway in front of your house, it's really kind of essential.

00:39Yeah, it is strange, it's like, you know, we live up, I've been up here since 1976, so you get used to it.

00:46Yeah, but that garage has been very useful to have.

00:50It has, because cars were getting vandalised a few years ago in the 80s, so we both decided we could get a garage each as well.

00:58So you've been paying your rent for your garage, it does go up every year.

01:04Every year it goes up a few pounds.

01:06Yeah, so we looked at a couple of the bills and, you know, the one year it went up and it was roughly 10%, you know, it had gone up.

01:12So, up until recently, you were paying roughly what per garage per month?

01:18£33.35 per month, each garage.

01:23Yeah, so that's knocking on £70 per month for the two of you.

01:28Now, you've had a letter from the council, what's it say?

01:32It says the garages have gone up, which I think is extortionate, it's gone up to £62.40 each garage.

01:48So you're looking at roughly knocking on an extra £60 a month, aren't you?

01:54Yeah, exactly.

01:55An extra £60 a month.

01:57So you worked it out and it's something like getting on for 90% increase.

02:01Increase, yeah.

02:02So have they given any explanation or reason?

02:06No, I phoned them up and they said they hadn't put the garages up for a long while and it was time for them to put them up.

02:13Which, you'd contest them even saying that, wouldn't you?

02:16Because like you say, it has gone up, you know, most years it does go up.

02:19It goes up a little bit every year.

02:21So my pension doesn't go up nearly 90%, does it?

02:25Yeah, I mean, whatever goes up 90%, it's crazy, isn't it?

02:28So, obviously councils are struggling and they're looking to get money where they can,

02:34but how do you feel about them looking to double your bills for your garage?

02:41As normal, we would have expected it to go up a small amount, you know, but not nearly 90%.

02:48It's terrible, it's terrible.

02:50Yeah.

02:51We're going to have to give one up at least anyway, because there's no way we can afford that on pensions.

02:57Yeah.

02:58You know.

02:59And I guess, you know, who is going to want to pay that much a month for a garage?

03:03So what happens then?

03:04Then these, you know, do half of them become empty?

03:07And we know what happens with empty garages.

03:08Next thing you know, the doors are kicked in and there's a fire and they just look a mess.

03:12The cars are going to get vandalised.

03:13There's no way to park up here anyway.

03:15Yeah.

03:16Those are empty at the moment because people are at work.

03:18Yeah.

03:19But it'll become, first come, first served.

03:20Well, yeah.

03:21It'll cause animosity then, won't it?

03:22Yeah, because there's quite…

03:23It'll come back around five o'clock, all those spaces are taken.

03:26Yeah, I mean, there's quite a few houses, aren't there, that don't have a parking space in front.

03:31So, like you say, when they're back from work, they're all going to be pulling up and trying to grab that bit of road.

03:36Exactly.

03:37So, does it leave you feeling quite bitter after, you know, you've been a paying customer looking after that garage for 40 years?

03:43I do, and I mean, the attitude of the woman on the end of the phone at the council, she says,

03:48oh yes, we've only just heard about this and we were told that it had gone up.

03:53I said, yeah, but it's gone up a lot.

03:55Yeah.

03:56You can't… and she couldn't answer me.

03:57I can't justify that, I mean.

03:59Yeah.

04:00Not in my own mind, you know, I just can't.

04:02Yeah.

04:03And from what you've heard, you know, it's not just a unique situation to your garages.

04:08You were saying you've heard of other people in the Dudley Borough experiencing the same.

04:12Yeah, there's a few from Quarry Bank and there's a few from down on Farmcroft, the next estate down to us.

04:18I know somebody who's got two garages and they're our age.

04:21Yeah.

04:22And they're giving one of theirs up, but the one chap from Quarry Bank, he'd been in touch with his local councillor

04:29and the councillor said to him that they can charge what they like.

04:33That's it, yeah.

04:35Okay, well, like you say, you're going to have to lose one of them then.

04:38Yeah.

04:39That's what I'll have to have them, yeah.

04:40Well, thank you for letting us know what's going on.

04:44Yeah, yeah.

04:45Cheers, guys.

04:46Good luck in the future.

04:47Cheers, folks.

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