Century-old Stapleford social club at risk over £5k water bill dispute

BBC News

5 days ago

Members of a 103-year-old social club have said they will be forced to close down if they have to pay a water bill backdated eight years.The Old Mill Club in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, says it discovered in 2017 it was paying double for its water usage totalling about £10,000 from utility company Water Plus.This is because the club's bill included the water used by its neighbour - a Koi fish retailer - despite it paying its own bill as well.When the mistake was identified, Water Plus reassessed the bill and cut it to £5,096 in January 2025.
However, the club's committee says it is still disputing the updated bill, over claims Water Plus did not backdate it correctly.Water Plus said the new amount had been calculated by backdating to April 2 its current usage since the installation of a sub-meter in October 2024.That installation work was carried out by water company Severn Trent.
The debt had been accrued because the club had refused to pay its water bill "on principle" after believing it was being overcharged. Abigail Jackson, committee member, said the club had been "completely closed" during the pandemic - and this should have been reflected in the bill."All the way through this, we have stated we will pay once you can prove what you're asking for."The club said it had been given a 12-month deadline to pay the debt. Water Plus said its teams were available to help with setting up a payment plan."If we are forced to pay this bill, which there is no proof we owe, we would most likely have to close," Ms Jackson said.
Zulekah Hattersley has been visiting the club since she was a toddler in a pram, and now aged 27, she brings her own child to the club.She said that growing up with the social club had provided her with a strong sense of belonging and family."I've got people that aren't aunties that I call auntie in here," she said.If the Old Mill had to close, she said the impact would be "horrible" for herself and for the other regulars."We're not what you expect from a working man's club. I've made long-lasting friends down here. It's a brilliant environment for all kinds of people, and we just want to be inclusive."She said the club had been fighting for survival for years, and described the water bill dispute as a "big grey cloud" over the heads of committee members and trustees.As for Ms Jackson, she said the Old Mill came into her life when she was in "a very dark place", and that it was the only place she felt safe."This place also has a lot of history, and the mill building itself has been here for hundreds and hundreds of years, so not only would you lose the club, you would be losing something that has been part of this area for hundreds of years."
Where did it all begin?
The billing problem had been caused because both affected sites share a single water pipe, from when the land was entirely owned by the social club.In 2011 a previous committee sold part of the land, which subsequently had various uses, until it became occupied by the Koi fish retailer.Severn Trent told the BBC when the land was split, the existing supply was not split, and that both sites needed to make an application for a new connection.The current committee running the social club was not involved in that sale, and said such an application would now be difficult because the land was no longer under one owner.The manager of the fish retailer said his bills had been unaffected and that he had been paying the correct amount.A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: "Our records show that the customer was informed on seven separate occasions during a three-year period that they would need to apply to install a new connection and undertake works to split their supply."Because no application was made, the meter recorded all water that passed through the supply pipe, regardless of which property was using it."Changes to the water pipes and any maintenance within a property boundary are the responsibility of the occupier or landowner."Water Plus has requested a number of supply checks and site visits since 2018, and on each occasion our engineers confirmed that the supply still needed to be separated by the customer."
'Spreading payments'
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Water Plus said the company had been working closely with the management committee at the Old Mill Social Club.It said the updated charges for the social club had "significantly reduced the water costs and bills"."The current amount owed is for water supplied for the Old Mill Social Club itself, after charging could be divided and updated after a sub-meter was installed by the wholesaler Severn Trent, and we've shared information around spreading payments, to help the social club."Our teams remain here to help with setting up a payment plan to cover the monthly costs and the amount owed."