'I thought luxury living in Altrincham would be great - instead I'm risking my life'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Renters living in a 215-apartment three-build complex in Trafford say they are being charged 'astronomical' energy bills that they are tied into - with one resident saying they have had to 'stop taking medication' in order to be able to pay their bills.

Overlooking the Bridgewater Canal on the site of a former pressure gauge factory, the futuristic Budenberg building in Altrincham takes its inspiration from ocean liners and promises to be a bit different to other apartment blocks in the city-region, describing its design as 'deliberately dramatic' and its penthouses as 'indulgent' in marketing literature.

But a different kind of pressure is building there today. Tenants, most paying more than £1,200 a month in rent, say they are being forced to pay six times more on energy bills than they were just three months ago.

One tenant was billed more than £3,100 over a 92-day period between November and February for their water, heating and electricity, despite the support with energy bills the government has put in place. READ MORE: Council rakes in more than £120k in parking fines outside Greater Manchester hospital Tenants at Budenberg, which is owned by Urban Splash but run by property management company Xenia, say they are ‘tied’ into a heat network from energy provider Switch2, where heating, water and electricity services for all units in the three-build heating all come from one system.