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.
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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.