Hampshire: Residents worried after sewage bills spike

The issue is also affecting residents in Glebe Meadow in East Dean

Some residents living in rural villages have raised concerns over a "horrific" increase in their sewage bills.

A number of ex-council homes across the Test Valley, in Hampshire, are not connected to mains drainage, meaning that their waste water is collected in tanks before being emptied by lorries.

But bills for the work have more than trebled in recent years, residents have claimed.

Housing association Aster pledged to address the concerns.

The company, which is responsible for arranging the sewage collection, said it understood residents' concerns about "existing and potential future costs".

Joanne Nash, who lives in Manor Road, in East Tytherley, is one of those affected.

She said her sewage bill went up from £59 a month a few years ago to £288 this year.

"We're in a cost-of-living crisis. To be paying more for sewage than for heating just is not right," she said.

Ms Nash said her bill rose from £126 per month last year to £288 per month this year

Ms Nash is among those calling on Aster to clarify the reasons for the increase and try to reduce costs.

"We are living in fear at the moment of having a huge bill for any refurbishment costs,"she added.

Lynda Truckle, who lives in East Dean north of Romsey, said even after taking into account inflation she had never thought her sewage bills would increase by £120 a month.

"It's making us feel more financially insecure, and I have gone back to work part time which I had not planned to do,"she said.

'Very wrong'

Caroline Nokes, the MP for Romsey and Southampton North, said it seemed "very wrong" that householders could be charged more for their waste water disposal than their energy bills.

Earlier this month, she raised the issue in the House of Commons and Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison pledged to meet with Ms Nokes to see what the government could do to support residents.

Aster Group said the company was in regular contact with affected residents and was committed to address the concerns "on a site-by-site basis".

"The charges to the homeowners reflect the actual cost of maintaining these plants and no other costs are passed on," it added in a statement.