£1.3m to be spent on aerial changes
Wednesday 24th March 2010, 5:59PM GMT.
Around £1.3m will be spent by Dudley Council upgrading aerials on thousands of properties ready for the digital switchover, it was revealed today.
Tenants living in flats or sheltered accommodation will have the aerials replaced free of charge and in total 8,200 properties will be upgraded.
Council house tenants who have always bought their own television aerials will have to foot the bill themselves.
The council says depending on the type of property, the cost to replace the analogue systems on buildings with communal aerials varies between £100 and £185.
Spokesman Phil Parker said tenants who shared before would not be charged.
The replacement is expected to be completed by 2011 in time for the digital switchover.
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What a waste of money. TV isn’t essential, make them get their own like the rest of us have to. Same with prisoners,they shouldn’t have TV’s at all. Blinking nanny state. What next state appointed Wi-fits and reclining sofas? some one to come round and turn the lights on and off as well?
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I hope the council realises that aerial upgrades aren’t necessarily required for the digital switchover. The vast majority of people will be able to use their existing aerials.
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it’s the surplus money they just have to get rid of somehow, same as every year!
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In most cases, a new aerial is not needed for digital. Every box I fitted works with the old aerial. Someone will make a fast buck out of this…..
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Sam, you are talking out of your bum! These flats will already have a distribution amplifier to each separate flat, so only the aerial needs changing, ONE aerial to feed all flats. Get it? Not a cluster stuck all over the place or on any handy bit of wall, sill, balcony. Now stop being so mean.
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The digital switch over is a forced move by the government. So yes they should pay for it.
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I wonder if the leaseholders in Dudley will have to pay as much as we are being FORCED to pay for our ‘upgraded’ aerials? As a Wolverhampton Home leaseholder I will have to pay £200 for ONE aerial and £80 for each additional sockets and I’m not allowed to get my own contractor in, I have to use who they ‘recommend’. So the Dudley leaseholders should count themselves lucky if they can get their own people in!
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Madness complete madness!!!
Firstly these aerials don’t neccesarily need changing and secondly,why should my council tax be used to pay for someone elses television viewing.
JJ the council aren’t the government. What next the council or government buying every scrounger out there a TV.
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The aerial changeover is being paid for out of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account, NOT its Council Tax account. The HRA is funded from rent money and is ‘ring-fenced’ from other expenditure. So it won’t cost council taxpayers anything – unless, of course, they’re a tenant living in one of Dudley’s council properties.
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Nice to see Dudley have got there Priorities
Right.
We Can’t Swim but we can all watch Digital television.
Perhaps the money from Bulldosing coseley baths can go towards it.
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£1.3m to replace aerials that probably don’t need changing, yet they couldn’t find £2m to repair Coseley Baths, I think these are figures that Dudley Council pluck out of thin air.
In fact Coseley Baths didn’t need £2m spending on it. It was a ‘scare figure’ that had nothing to do with actual cost.
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As a single working male, I am forced to pay 75% council tax, a tax based on two adults sharing an address. I find it absolutely disgusting that my money is being spent on arial upgrades for council tenants, most of whom can afford to pay for their own.
We should all withhold our council tax, they cant lock all of us up.
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I am pleased to see that other people are still as annoyed as i am about OUR baths which these so called representatives have stolen from us. good on yer folks dont forget these councillors—-EVER
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