BRONAFON leaseholders in Cwmbran have hit out after receiving bills of up to £27,000 for repairs to their building.

Residents in Monmouth House have received bills for repairs to be done to the building that will include the roof, windows and exterior cladding being added to the building. There are 56 flats in the building, 35 of which are leased by Bron Afon, while 21 are privately owned. Last week our sister paper the Free Press reported that Bron Afon leaseholders in Pontypool were billed £8,000 for improvement works.

Della and Robert Burns, age 74 and 79 respectively, have been handed a bill for £17,200 and have concerns about how they will afford the amount. The couple have lived in the building for 25 years and Mr Burns had a stroke at Christmas, which they put downto the stress of receiving the bill. Mrs Burns said: “It’s been going on for two years. We are not arguing against windows and roof improvements but against the installation of cladding as it is not necessary.”

Widow Anne Loveland, 76, has been billed for £26,000, although she was originally not included in the payment as her lease says she does not have to pay for repairs. She explained: “Bron Afon have changed the wording of the job so that I am included as they are calling it repairs through improvements.

There’s no way that I can afford that. I can’t evenmove out as I would not be able to sell the property with this bill attached to it.”

Bron Afon’s head of asset management and investment, Peter Howell, said: “We have taken advice from structural engineers. They have recommended that we apply the cladding to repair the concrete structure and protect it fromdeterioration.

“We appreciate that leaseholders are concerned about the bills they have received.

This is why we offer a range of repayment options, which are happy to discuss with individual leaseholders.”