An independent councillor has accused Sutton council of “cruel exploitation” after they agreed a renewable energy deal with Barratt Developments Plc.

The agreement was announced last month (July 18) as it was confirmed that residents of the New Mill Quarter in Hackbridge will be able to heat their homes through sustainable low-carbon energy.

This energy will be generated by the Sutton Decentralised Energy Network (SDEN) who will gather heat from the “Energy Recovery Facility” in Beddington.

However, this raised concerns of how affordable this heat would be for new residents thinking of moving into the 725 plush new apartments.

Independent councillor Nick Mattey told Sutton Guardian: “Residents have no choice and are being forced to buy their heat from Sutton Council. These prices are 400 per cent more than Sutton Housing Partnership tenants pay for heat.

“They are more than double than people pay for gas. This is cruel exploitation by the council of these residents. To say this scheme will fight fuel poverty is completely untrue. It’s part of rip of Britain. I’m really angry.”

A Sutton Council spokesman said: "The charges will be comparable with the cost of generating heat from a traditional boiler system, which includes the cost of gas, and running, maintaining and replacing that boiler. Charges will be a combination of a fixed and variable rate – the same as any other energy supplier.

“To maintain price parity, the variable rate will track wholesale gas prices and the fixed rate “the standing charge” will track changes in national consumer price indices and labour costs, so that pricing is fair to the consumer.

“Charges will be a combination of a Standing Charge and a Unit Charge and these will be linked to a combination of the change in the RPI and wholesale gas prices to ensure that charges rise and fall in accordance with the market.”

Leader of the council opposition, Tim Crowley, told Sutton Guardian that the agreement between Barratt’s and the council was “a tad odd” although he said that he wasn't party to the agreement.

He continued: “The goalposts do seem to have been moved in that eradicating fuel poverty was one of the reasons given by London Borough of Sutton for setting up SDEN yet the charges seem to be actually putting people into 'fuel poverty'.”

Sutton Council added that residents will have their own individual meter and will be billed monthly for the heat supply as well as a standing charge. These charges will be a combination of a standing charge and a unit charge.

Barratt Development Plc has been contacted for a comment.