A CHESTER resident has spoken of her frustration at being embroiled in years of battles with the council over unnecessary extra care charges.

Angela Hetherington moved into the Abbots Wood housing development off Northgate Avenue in 2015, and subsequently joined residents in battling against Cheshire West and Chester Council over a weekly £23.93 charge, to cover the cost of band one care.

Following discussions with CWaC, the charge was subsequently lowered to £17.59 in 2016 and became a £6-a-week service by 2020.

It also led to a total of £840,000 is being paid back by CWaC to around 400 ‘band one’ residents across nine extra care facilities.

But several residents disputed having to pay for the charge at all, saying the extra care service should have been optional.

Extra care housing is for the over-55s who want to live independently but can still access care if or when it is required. A listing by developer Your Housing Group states: "If you are aged 55 or over, our retirement living properties are perfect for you."

Angela became aware of the charge one month after moving into the apartment she bought at Abbots Wood in May 2015, despite previously filling a form to say she had no care needs.

After being told a new pull-cord emergency response service was to be implemented at the housing complex, which residents could 'opt in' to in late 2019, Angela said residents were initially "very relieved" the dispute appeared to be over.

But instead, residents received a letter with an attached Direct Debit form for a weekly £6 sum for the pull-cord service. When residents queried this, Angela says, they were told the service was mandatory.

She said: "This has caused a great deal of stress, fear and upset to elderly residents some of whom have for over seven years now been bullied into paying these unlawful charges under threat of court action for non payment."

Angela added the council later informed residents in December 2022 that residents would now be able to 'opt out' of the service, but she said this has angered residents who had not wanted to 'opt in' to the service in the first place.

A meeting was held with Abbots Wood residents last month, in which the pull cord service was explained, and that it features the presence of on-site carers and is a 24-hour service.

But Angela explained that, "much to the anger of residents, the council proceeded to blame the residents for not wanting the service which would in turn cast doubt on its future provision."

She says residents are legally entitled to be living at the housing block, stipulating the sole requirement of being aged over 55, but that the council appeared to assume it would be providing all residents with extra care and support, which would be subject to extra charges.

Angela added: "It appears that to cover up for their continuing failures, [CWaC is] content to put the blame on residents themselves, whilst at the same time causing more stress and anxiety to those residents who, both initially or since, needed care provision or the personal response provided by on site staff for the pull-cord service."

In response, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet member for adult social care and health, Councillor Val Armstrong, said: “Extra care housing developments offer residents the ability to live the way they want to with the added reassurance that care and support are available should a person’s needs change as they age.

"Residents in each scheme can have varying degrees of care and support needs, including people who are presently independent but want the assurance of an extra care setting in the future; people with moderate needs; and people with higher care needs who may otherwise have to live in residential care.

“Extra care housing benefits from 24-hour on site staffing and an emergency pull cord response system in apartments, providing a safety net of immediate support should residents require emergency assistance at home.

"We know that the emergency pull cord service provides residents with vital reassurance, it can act like an insurance policy to residents and their families, allowing them to be confident that if anything happens, help will be on hand quickly.

“Some residents not in receipt of a care package have expressed a wish to no longer receive the service and be able to opt-out. The council considered this request carefully and the decision has been taken that residents not in receipt of a care package can opt-out of the scheme if they wish to do so. If at a later date a resident wishes to opt-in again this can be arranged.”