Heating costs soar for homes

From the archive, first published Saturday 10th Sep 2005.

HUNDREDS of homes in the Swindon area fitted with oil-burning central heating are feeling the pinch as the prices of domestic fuel have rocketed by more than 50 per cent in a year.

This comes only days after the Advertiser reported that petrol prices have broken the £1 barrier in Swindon.

In 12 months domestic fuel has gone up by more than 10p a litre, from about 22p to 35p.

And, with families mainly in rural areas filling up their domestic oil tanks with on average 2,000 litres a year this means they are spending about £260 extra annually, rising from £440 to £700.

Caroline Hill, 37, of Post Office Lane, Broad Hinton, has to use the fuel as her main source of heating because her street is not on the gas mains.

The mother-of-four said: "I moved into this property three and a half years ago and since then the price of the fuel has doubled.

"During the winter months it's definitely our biggest bill.

"But, like a lot of rural houses, we don't have any choice as it's our only source of fuel.

"We're able to afford it, but I could see that poorer households would have a hard job affording it and would have to eke it out to make it last."

In the Swindon area there are several businesses which provide fuel for domestic use, with prices varying from 33p to 37p.

Several oil refineries were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina disrupting the oil flow from the Gulf of Mexico.

This has caused the present sharp hike in fuel costs.

Tony Pateman, the depot manager of Bassett Fuels in Wootton Bassett, said: "In the whole of Wiltshire I have thousands of customers still on this fuel and in the Swindon area alone there are hundreds.

"Over the past year it has gone up by at least 10p and a lot of people can't move on to other forms of heating as it is the only option available as domestic fuel as there is no mains gas in the area.

"It is mainly used in rural areas, but you do get some old town houses that still use it.

"There are a lot of reasons why the fuel price has gone up. Hurricane Katrina is just the icing on the cake, but it has been going up throughout the whole year.

"The instability of the Middle East has a lot of impact on oil prices as well and we're all feeling it."

Farmers face double whammy on their fuel use

AMONG the worst affected by the fuel crisis are farmers in the Swindon area as the price of red diesel ­ used in agricultural vehicles ­ has almost doubled in the last year.

It has gone up from 21p this time last year and is now around 39p.

Now there are rumours that the country could soon be seized by another fuel blockade.

Ian Johnson, the NFU spokesman for the south west, said: "Red diesel, although it has shot through the roof in price, is not the only thing that affects farmers.

"You've got to remember that red diesel can only be used on agricultural land, but farmers who have to transport their goods by road or have deliveries by road are subject to same fuel tax as the rest of the country for a lot of their needs.

"And, unlike other businesses, the bottom line is with them so they can't palm off the cost to those they supply.

"it doesn't work that way as they can't risk losing trade.

"It is crippling a lot of farmers but we don't think the answer is a fuel blockade.

"That is something we would never condone as it won't solve anything.

"We are hostages to the Middle East and that is something that is affecting the whole country.

"Hopefully, the Government will soon step in with something that could lessen the financial impact on a lot of people."

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