A COUNCILLOR is furious after a heating fiasco at a retirement home led some tenants to wash themselves using kettles.

Brighton and Hove City Council ripped out ageing communal heaters in Elwyn Jones Court in London Road three years ago because the block’s elderly residents were at risk of catching Legionnaires’ disease.

But the electric water heaters installed in their place are now set to be replaced to tune of £590,000 because of rising costs to residents.

Patcham Councillor Lee Wares said the 2017 works were a waste of money.

“To remedy the risk of legionella, in 2017 the council ripped out hot water cylinders from resident flats that provided ambient heating and installed electric water heaters connected to residents’ meters,” the Conservative councillor said.

“That pushed their electricity bills up while still paying for a service charge for hot water.

“Some residents resorted to not using their showers and just boiling water in kettles to wash in a bid to keep their bills down while their flats were cold.”

Though the city council eventually reimbursed residents, Cllr Wares said people in the flat block had been short changed because their rent had paid for the electric heaters to be installed.

“The 2017 works are now redundant and proved to be a waste of their money,” he said.

The city council will now replace the electric heaters with an eco-friendly system which draws heat from underground.

Councillors approved the move at a housing committee meeting last week, with housing chief Gill Williams saying the new system would cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

“This is an exciting proposal and will be the first time the council has installed a ground source heat pump on a residential building,” she said.

“Residents at Elwyn Jones Court will benefit from a more efficient heating and hot water system, and the prospect of lower energy bills.

“And there will be wider benefits of a significant reduction in carbon emissions.”

Opposition housing spokeswoman Siriol Hugh-Jones said the replacement was a practical step towards cutting pollution in the city.

“As a council we are committed to becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030,” the Green councillor said.

“This proposal is an example of the practical steps we are taking to help us achieve this.”

The project is estimated to cost £590,000.

But it is expected to generate £35,000 in Government grants for the council each year, as well as cutting more than £41,000 in energy bills for the council and residents.

A city council spokesman said: “The water heaters at Elwyn Jones Court were installed in 2017.

“After installation we have found the heaters to be more costly to residents.

“The proposed new heating solution provides us with an option to change the hot water supply.”

“We will look to re-use the water heaters where we can.”